No TaxCut 2005 for Macintosh

[Doctor Q]

According to tuaw.com, H&R Block has dropped the Mac version of their tax preparation software Taxcut.

I've used both Taxcut and Intuit's MacinTax/TurboTax and preferred Taxcut, which is what I used last year. Having to switch programs (and my data) is going to make extra work/time for me.

Grrrrrrr!

 

[hcuar]

This sucks... I prefer Taxcut to Turbotax anyday.

 

[electronboy]

I have always used TurboTax for the Mac or TurboTax for the web and have always liked the product so I won't miss TaxCut. It is always dissapointing to see some vendors drop Macintosh development.

The next few years we will see fewer tax software products in the stores as the companies will undoubtedly move these products to the web and still keep charging the same amount thereby increasing their margins.

 

[Nermal]

I've used both Taxcut and Intuit's MacinTax/TurboTax and preferred Taxcut, which is what I used last year. Having to switch programs (and my data) is going to make extra work/time for me.

Why don't you just keep using your existing version?

 

[rdowns]

Why don't you just keep using your existing version?

You need updated tax tables each year as well as any changes in the tax laws which would be integrated into a new version.

 

[Danksi]

You need updated tax tables each year as well as any changes in the tax laws which would be integrated into a new version.

...nice little earner.

 

[Doctor Q]

They must have sold a very small number of these to have made it not worthwhile to simply update the software for the next tax year.

They didn't have to develop a new program for 2005, just update the forms/formulas/instructions in the current program. And you'd think that "data" portion would have been platform-independent all along.

They have always treated the Mac version as a second-class citizen, not offering it in the multiple configurations that the Windows version comes in, and making it harder to find on their web site. But now there is no mention of a Mac version at all, which seems to confirm this story.

 

[Nermal]

You need updated tax tables each year as well as any changes in the tax laws which would be integrated into a new version.

I see. I, of course, have zero familiarity with the US tax system.

 

[rdowns]

I see. I, of course, have zero familiarity with the US tax system.

You and about 400,000,000 Americans.

 

[bousozoku]

I wonder if the online version will still work because I really don't like the idea of going back to Intuit. After all, they can't even get my name right--after I entered it myself when I registered. How messed up is that?

They really showed disrespect for all Mac users in how they treated us on the phone a few years ago. Personally, I had an interesting phone call but no disrespect--it was more like disbelief.

After we went through about 5 minutes of conversation, the woman asked which version of Windows I was using and I responded "I've never used Windows at home" which was a stretch from just not using the Windows version of their software. "Oh, sorry to bother you." She never bothered to ask if I was using a Mac version.

At the same time, people were asking why it cost $10 more for the Mac version and they were told that it was harder to programme for Macs, sometimes, with some sort of insult.

Considering that the software originated the genre as Mac in Tax, how could it be more difficult to programme the original? Then, they didn't want to provide a Carbon-ised version for Mac OS X. TaxCut was out quite quickly with a compatible version and it was only $24.99--half the price of that other software.

H&R Block should be using Java, so everyone, including Linux users could be using their software.

 

[bbarnhart]

You and about 400,000,000 Americans.

The US population is 295,734,134

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/rankorder/2119rank.html

 

[Doctor Q]

You and about 400,000,000 Americans.

The US population is 295,734,134

The next 104,265,866 future Americans will be confused by taxes too.

 

[bousozoku]

Something strange happened when I checked my mail. I found a copy of TaxCut 2005 Deluxe waiting for me. No note was included, other than the "Welcome Back" emblazoned on the outside of the package. I'm glad to see that the TaxCut people have also gotten my name wrong. (How can I enter the name myself and they can't get it right?)

Obviously, the software is for Windows, but why they sent it to me is a mystery. I suspect an e-mail is forthcoming...if not from them, to them.

Happy holidays!

[EDIT]
Apparently, thousands of these were sent to people who didn't order them. Add to that H&R Block is having tax problems of their own and I'm sure it's an interesting tax season for them.
[/EDIT]

 

[ingenious]

Here's a reply to an email I sent them concerning it:

----
Thank you for contacting H&R Block Customer Service.

H&R Block has discontinued its TaxCut for Macintosh software this year. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to invest and enhance our Macintosh products over the past several years, customer demand has continued to decline. Due to poor sales we've decided to discontinue Macintosh development for this year. We will continue to evaluate the market viability for Macintosh based products in the future.

Macintosh users can still use TaxCut Online our web based tax preparation at http://www.hrblock.com. TaxCut Online imports last year's TaxCut software data making tax preparation easy.

We do value you as a TaxCut customer and thank you for purchasing our Macintosh product in past years. If you have further questions or concerns, please "reply" to this e-mail.

Sincerely,

***********
H&R Block Customer Service Team

So there's still some hope, but a lot of companies tell Mac users that they will "continue to evaluate demand" or something like that and then don't release anything. The funny thing is I actually do see more companies creating Mac versions, like Auran. Which, by the way, is actually a gaming site.

edit: fixed my tag.
edit 2: fixed readability in a sentence.