The install disk I have is a Walmart Branded disc, probably because they are offering a $50 credit if you turn at least $400 of your refund into a Walmart gift card. I doubt I am even getting close to that this year, but we shall see.
As I begin the comparison, it is important to have the metrics set. In order for HRB to be a viable solutions it must: import my prior years' TurboTax data, including properly carrying forward my capital loss carry overs, as well as my basis data for both Traditional and ROTH IRAs; automatically download investment and banking data as well as TurboTax does (not critical since DFAS does not provide for electronic 1099s); import from Quicken; and finally compute the same result for taxes/refund.
So to start.
The installation CD was imbalanced and caused a lot of noise in the install. So much so I had to swap CD/DVD drives to get it to run. Not an auspicious start, but if I can get the install to complete, I will probably not have to put the disk in a computer again. Once I did that, the program installed in less than 3 minutes. The installer offered me the chance to launch HRB, but I closed it down, choosing to launch from the shortcut I let it place on the desktop. Unlike TurboTax, there does not appear to be any extra programs installed/running in the background. Also Unlike TT, H&R Block Deluxe is not concerned that it is being installed to an XP machine.
First Launch:
It immediately takes you to a registration/activation screen, which you can by-pass. Activation is apparently only required when it is time to e-file. The next page requests contacting the mother-ship to do an update, as well as permission to check for updates every time it launches. Found an update, claimed it would take 5 minutes to download on Broadband, was done in less than 45 secs. Choices were to restart and install or install on next start and continue. Restarted and the update was applied in less than a minute.
Option presented to begin a new return and import data. It did not scan the computer like TT did, however it presented the option to browse for the file. Once the location was identified, all of the TT data files I had used for my "What if" calculations were listed as available, and continue to be available. I imported the filed return and the program advised that, based on the prior return, all forms were approved as final by the IRS and I could enter this years information and file. Also, under "File" HRB presents the opportunity to password protect the file.
Next... comparing initial starting states.
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