Forum Moderators: phranque
I'd like to upgrade to Quicken, but that doesn't seem to be an option as it only imports from MS Money '03+ from what I understand.
Plus, i'm going to go the tax software route since I know no accountants, and don't feel like sitting around H&R Block for an hour or two while they ask me a million questions (at least that was my experience many years ago, and that was when I just had like 2 w-2's)
So, i'm thinking i'm going to need one that has some tax advice, especially since I plan on writing stuff off. My question is, what's the best combo of financial software and tax software out there? Is there one?
My situation is this...
1. My income is 100% 1099-MISC type. No stocks, 401k, or anything like that. No W-2, no real job, nothing. Just income from affiliate programs.
2. My expenses are some advertising costs, computer supplies, and i'm going to need to speak to a pro about rent and stuff.
3. I have no employees, no need for invoices or anything like that.
I mention that because I see some advanced features of like Money-Business that have all types of inventory tracking, invoices, etc. It doesn't seem like I need that, only something that may seperate my schedule C items and automatically import them into whatever tax software I get.
Right now i'm thinking Quicken (if there is a way to import my old data). I can't decide which version, possibly just the business one if I need it. I'm also thinking of turbotax online version where I pay like $80 and get the audit protection, tax advice, and the professional review. Probably something i'll need if i'm writing off stuff i'm not sure i'm supposed to be.
So what do you guys suggest? What do you use if you're just a simple affiliate like me? Thanks! (I suppose I could have cut a lot of my post down, but I have a bad habit of getting too detailed and confusing)
TaxCut is also supposed to be good and is a bit cheaper than TurboTax. (I used it a couple of years ago and didn't like it as much.)
TurboTax imports data from Quicken, QuickBooks, and Microsoft Money; I presume TaxCut does, too.
I may have to look into Quicken more. Is it worth it to get the business version of either Quicken/Money, or just one of the lesser versions? Those business ones seem to be more for the real small businesses, and not guys who do affiliate work on the net. I think I would just need something that would allow me to have two seperate accounts, and flag certain things as business expenses, although that isn't always needed either since I usually make all my business expenses out of my business account.
If you're trying to take the rent as a business deduction, it's extremely doubtful for your situation. For the Office in Home deduction, you need to have dedicated space that is for the exclusive use of your business- no mixed use with personal activites.
