H&R Block At Home 2009 Deluxe Federal + eFile [Formerly TaxCut] [Download]

Comment: Quick download version software for my 2009 tax return preparation. It saves the shipping and handling time and cost.

Comment: I have used the Taxcut software for the past few years and have always been happy with the product and price. This is the first time I have tried the downloaded version. I'm happy to say it downloaded quickly, installed easily and worked as flawlessly as the boxed versions I have used in past years. I was working on my taxes within 10 minutes instead of waiting for my software in the mail. I also liked that downloaded version is more enviromentally friendly since there isn't all that added packaging and shipping. Just an FYI, you will need a to redeem a "keycode" in order to file your federal return for free. This keycode is in your download library in your Amazon account.

Comment: I have used TaxCut for years. This is HR Block's new version of that product. I had issues with Turbo Tax in the past, and have been a loyal customer of HR Block's software for many years. Downloading this was the most economical way of getting this great product.

I live in Illinois where I can file my state taxes for free, so I did not need to purchase the state program.

Comment: I am not one who usually write reviews, although I think I would call this more of a comment. I felt compelled to write this because of Intuit's exorbarant pricing for their software. I know Turbo Tax is considered the king of do-it-yourself tax software for home users, but didn't want to shell out the close to $50 to do my 2009 taxes. I felt a little doubt going with the lesser known H&R Block At Home (formerly Tax Cut), but tried both using the free online versions first. Both calculated my refund exactly the same! Why would I pay over $15 for the same result? Here is another tip, do yourself a favor and do your easier, state taxes the old fashioned way. State tax inclusion is way over priced and takes about a half hour once you have your federal return in hand. Another money saver is to buy the download version, although I feel like their should be more of a discount than a few dollars. I had no problems with Amazon's software downloading program on Windows XP, and you get your software right away! Looks like H&R Block has found a repeat customer as long as it doesn't go to their heads!

Comment: The purchasing and downloading process was a breeze. Although I'm not a big fan of installing Amazon's download application (why couldn't they just give us a direct link to download the program?), it went without a hitch. As far as installation, that went well too. No errors.

I have Windows 7, 64 bit. The H&R Block website states that this software works on both 32 and 64 bit versions of the OS. So I was surprised when I went to run the application that it wouldn't work! A pop-up immediately came up and states that the application crashed. I tried various "Compatibility" modes and even tried to "Run as an Administrator". None worked. I checked the Windows Event logs and the H&R Block application crash does show up. I uninstalled and reinstalled the program, again to no avail.

Long story short, I didn't feel like messing around much more. So I just fired up VMWare, installed Windows XP 32-bit, and installed the B&R Block software. It now works perfectly! It sucks that I had to do that just to get the software to work. So I give a 3 because it works great now, but loses 2 points for not working as advertised (on a Windows 7, 64-bit machine).