Intuit Tax Online (ITO) states in it's product literature that it back-ups your account so you do not have to. From their home page; "In the cloud, software is 100% maintenance-free. We'll back up and update everything in real time." Nothing could be further from the truth.

Last night I noticed on a return that I had transposed a number on the EIN. I went into the return to change it and ITO gave me a warning about a duplicate return and wanted to know if I wanted to hide the return. I tried canceling the error notice but it would not cancel. The only way to close the screen was to agree to hide the return. A message displayed said that I could later "unhide" the return. Again, nothing could be further from the truth.

I followed all the directions to unhide the account, but since I am unsure of the actual EIN I used to open the return with, I cannot retrieve the return, which I already paid for.

I contacted tech support via chat, that is the only way to talk to tech support at ITO, another minus. I gave the tech support person the Return ID number, which is system generated. I was told that there is no way to retrieve a return once it has been hidden without the EIN or SSN number. If you do not know the EIN or SSN they only thing that can be done is to rekey the return. The Return ID number is used for billing purposes only.

I asked about the back up ITO makes. According to the tech support person, backups are global in nature and for Intuits use only and they cannot do a client level restore. ITO claims it backs-up your data so you do not have to - that statement is simply inaccurate and a misrepresentation.

I will finish out the year since I've prepaid for several returns, but I will not be back next year. With a desktop product I back-up my data and I CAN recover from a stupid error that I made.

In my opinion Intuit Tax Online is not ready for prime time.

Kenneth Hoffman of K.R. Hoffman & Co., LLC is a highly sought after tax and business counselor. Counseling Entrepreneurs, Professionals and Select Individuals who are struggling with ever changing tax laws and who are paying too much in taxes. All the while he is protecting his clients from the IRS and other taxing authorities using proactive tax planning strategies, ensuring compliance with minimal tax liability.

Discover how I can help you overcome your tax and business challenges. To start the conversation or to become a client, call Kenneth Hoffman at (954) 591-8290 Monday - Friday between 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. for a no cost consultation, or drop me a note.

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