"I suspect your software creates inaccurate returns for many, if not most, Delawareans unless they are careful and override your defaults. Below I've listed the major problems that I encountered:

a. Your software automatically assumed "joint" filing, whereas the Delaware instructions make it very clear that when each spouse's income exceeds $9400, married couples in Delaware are generally better off to file using the status "Married & Filing Combined Separate."

b. Once I did override the "Joint" filing status (I had to read the Delaware instructions carefully to learn that we would be better off to do that), I couldn't figure out why your software calculated higher taxes using "Married & Filing Combined Separate" than under "Joint" filing. Eventually I realized that when I overrode the "Joint" filing to go to "Married and Filing Combined Separate," your software automatically switched from using itemized deductions to using standard deductions.

c. Necessary adjustments to the federal AGI were not made. When I completed our federal return with TaxCut, I included information on muni fund dividends that are taxable by my state (though not the federal government). I also noted that some of the income was "interest on U.S. obligations" that should not have been taxed by Delaware (though they are taxed by the federal government). Each of these should have been entered as "modifications to federal AGI" on the Delaware form and were not. In fact, when I entered the appropriate dollar amounts in the "spouse" column (Column A) of the Modification to Federal AGI form, your software automatically - and incorrectly - entered a negative dollar amount in the "you" column (Column B) so that the amounts would total to zero. I had to then override the spouse column.

d. When I overrode the default so that itemized deductions would be used, the deductions should have been allocated between the two spouses in proportion to their incomes. Your software merely put all itemized deductions under the "you" column, none were allocated to the "spouse." I had to calculate and enter the allocation manually for each deduction.

e. Your software designates Delaware as one of the states that "do not permit e-filing." Perhaps your software doesn't support e-filing in Delaware, but to say that Delaware does not permit it is untrue. I e-filed our Delaware return last year with TurboTax and the 2002 Delaware instructions clearly encourage it (you can read this in the complete set of Delaware instructions that you provide in lieu of any real help menu to support this state's software).

f. Your "interview" for Delaware consisted of one screen after another saying "Complete this form if necessary." Short of browsing the entire (unindexed) set of state instructions, users were given no guidance to help in deciding whether they needed to complete the forms or how to do so. Many of the forms were clearly inappropriate given the information entered for the federal return; for example, your interview should not have asked us about completing the Delaware form for people who are over 60 or disabled. Even the state software didn't "talk" to itself - while showing that I was owed a Delaware refund, your "interview" stated that if I owe more than $400 I should calculate the penalty.

In addition to purchasing your Delaware state software, I purchased your New York software so that we could file 2002 taxes for a recently deceased relative from that state. Your New York software carried over information from the federal return to the state return very appropriately. The New York interview mode asked pertinent questions and provided relevant help regarding terminology and nuances.

In contrast, your Delaware product is shameful. I imagine that many Delawareans' tax returns were calculated incorrectly by your software. As a business professor, the greatest utility of your product to me is as a scenario for discussions of business ethics.

Your software's "help" offering for completing the Delaware return was merely the complete set of state instructions, which I selected from a menu of states that all seem to have low populations (Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire, etc.). I can only assume that your firm has chosen to sell poorly-developed software to residents of all of these low-population states."

"Limited number of forms"
I was frustrated when I found that the California version does not include the Form 3510 (CREDIT FOR PRIOR YEAR ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM TAX) which I feel should be needed by many in the Silicon Valley where incentive stock options are popular. The customer support instructed me to download the form from California's FTB web site, then print it out, fill it in with pen, then plug in the numbers to the proper places in the program. And because the form has to be mailed in, I cannot use e-filing. Oh well, what to expect when it is free!

"False errors prevented me from filing electronically"
I found both the federal and state versions of TaxCut to be inferior to TurboTax. The worst part that due to some "errors" (which were not errors at all) I was unable to file electronically.

I would have felt much more confident filing my return if I had gone with TurboTax.

"TaxCut for state stinks"
I used TurboTax (Federal) last year. That was my first experience using a tax preparation software instead of the paper form, a pen and my brain. It gave me a pretty pleasant result.

This year I was lured to TaxCut due to various discounts - big mistake. I managed to get the Federal form completed after downloading the "company planned" updates. But the state version of TaxCut is more than useless. I need to fill taxes for two states and the CD in the State package can only install one state - the other state "must" be installed through website - not practical for my slow modem connection... I am trying to find the downloadable version for the second state.