Tax programs for Linux -- "say it ain't so!"

Paul W. Abrahams

28 Jan 2005 28 Jan '05

00:17

Does anyone know of an up-to-date income tax program for Linux along the lines of TurboTax or TaxCut? I think I know the answer -- no -- but please, someone, tell me I'm wrong! Paul

Show replies by thread

Patrick Shanahan

28 Jan 28 Jan

00:25

New subject: [SLE] Tax programs for Linux -- "say it ain't so!"

* Paul W. Abrahams [01-27-05 19:18]:

...

Does anyone know of an up-to-date income tax program for Linux along the lines of TurboTax or TaxCut? I think I know the answer -- no -- but please, someone, tell me I'm wrong!

OK, you are wrong, but you are *not*. -- Patrick Shanahan Registered Linux User #207535 http://wahoo.no-ip.org @ http://counter.li.org HOG # US1244711 Photo Album: http://wahoo.no-ip.org/photos

Ganeshram Iyer

04:15

New subject: [SLE] Tax programs for Linux -- "say it ain't so!"

If you dont mind using Turbotax for the web then it works fine with Firefox with User Agent Switcher extension, but I have not found a Tax program for Linux otherwise. If anyone knows please email the list. Thanks Ganesh On Thu, 27 Jan 2005 19:25:17 -0500, Patrick Shanahan wrote:

...

* Paul W. Abrahams [01-27-05 19:18]:

...
Does anyone know of an up-to-date income tax program for Linux along the lines of TurboTax or TaxCut? I think I know the answer -- no -- but please, someone, tell me I'm wrong!

OK, you are wrong, but you are *not*.

-- Patrick Shanahan Registered Linux User #207535 http://wahoo.no-ip.org @ http://counter.li.org HOG # US1244711 Photo Album: http://wahoo.no-ip.org/photos

-- Check the headers for your unsubscription address For additional commands send e-mail to suse-linux-e-help@suse.com Also check the archives at http://lists.suse.com Please read the FAQs: suse-linux-e-faq@suse.com

-- Ganeshram Iyer 415 South Oak St #117 Arlington, TX, 76010 Ph (H) - 817-274-7827

Paul W. Abrahams

04:23

New subject: [SLE] Tax programs for Linux -- "say it ain't so!"

On Thursday 27 January 2005 11:15 pm, Ganeshram Iyer wrote:

...

If you dont mind using Turbotax for the web then it works fine with Firefox with User Agent Switcher extension, but I have not found a Tax program for Linux otherwise. If anyone knows please email the list.

I wonder if Wine can handle the latest Turbotax (or for that matter the latest TaxCut). Personally, I find TurboTax much easier to use than TaxCut, and it also has a much better collection of IRS instructions. As the title of this thread indicates, I'm not the least bit surprised that there aren't any tax programs for Linux. Producing such a program is not only a very specialized business, but it requires that the job be done again every year. That's not a prospect that attracts many writers of open source code. Paul

Per Jessen

08:29

New subject: [SLE] Tax programs for Linux -- "say it ain't so!"

Ganeshram Iyer wrote:

...

If you dont mind using Turbotax for the web then it works fine with Firefox with User Agent Switcher extension, but I have not found a Tax program for Linux otherwise. If anyone knows please email the list.

You'll probably want to specify for which country you need this tax-program, I doubt if you'll find one that fits all countries and all tax-authorities? /Per Jessen, Zürich -- http://www.spamchek.com/freetrial - sign up for your free 30-day trial now!

Örn Einar Hansen

13:04

New subject: [SLE] Tax programs for Linux -- "say it ain't so!"

Þann Föstudagur 28 janúar 2005 05:23 skrifaði Paul W. Abrahams:

...

I wonder if Wine can handle the latest Turbotax (or for that matter the latest TaxCut). Personally, I find TurboTax much easier to use than TaxCut, and it also has a much better collection of IRS instructions.

Taxes, that's something you do in a Spreadsheet ... with all the spreadsheet guru's in the world, I'd have thought someone had made one for every tax system there is. :-)

...

As the title of this thread indicates, I'm not the least bit surprised that there aren't any tax programs for Linux. Producing such a program is not only a very specialized business, but it requires that the job be done again every year. That's not a prospect that attracts many writers of open source code.

Paul

Ken Schneider

13:17

New subject: [SLE] Tax programs for Linux -- "say it ain't so!"

On Fri, 2005-01-28 at 08:04, Örn Einar Hansen wrote:

...

Þann Föstudagur 28 janúar 2005 05:23 skrifaði Paul W. Abrahams:

...
I wonder if Wine can handle the latest Turbotax (or for that matter the latest TaxCut). Personally, I find TurboTax much easier to use than TaxCut, and it also has a much better collection of IRS instructions.

Taxes, that's something you do in a Spreadsheet ... with all the spreadsheet guru's in the world, I'd have thought someone had made one for every tax system there is. :-)

...
Paul

Ah yes, but which one will do E-file in the U.S.? -- Ken Schneider UNIX since 1989, linux since 1994, SuSE since 1998 * Only reply to the list please* "The day Microsoft makes something that doesn't suck is probably the day they start making vacuum cleaners." -Ernst Jan Plugge

linux

13:31

New subject: [SLE] Tax programs for Linux -- "say it ain't so!"

On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 08:17:05 -0500, Ken Schneider wrote:

...

On Fri, 2005-01-28 at 08:04, Örn Einar Hansen wrote:

...
...
I wonder if Wine can handle the latest Turbotax (or for that matter

Þann Föstudagur 28 janúar 2005 05:23 skrifaði Paul W. Abrahams: the

...
latest TaxCut). Personally, I find TurboTax much easier to use than TaxCut, and it also has a much better collection of IRS instructions.

Taxes, that's something you do in a Spreadsheet ... with all the spreadsheet guru's in the world, I'd have thought someone had made one for every tax system there is. :-)

...
Paul

Ah yes, but which one will do E-file in the U.S.?

Have a look at crossover office thier compatability list will give you some pointers if you want to try wine by yourself but there is a 30 day trial as well. The UK online form works in Netscape but it was the windows version I was using. So it might stiil fail under Linux. I guess I will have to try it in late April or early May. Regards Roger -- Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/

Bruce Marshall

13:54

New subject: [SLE] Tax programs for Linux -- "say it ain't so!"

On Thursday 27 January 2005 11:15 pm, Ganeshram Iyer wrote:

...

If you dont mind using Turbotax for the web then it works fine with Firefox with User Agent Switcher extension, but I have not found a Tax program for Linux otherwise. If anyone knows please email the list. Thanks Ganesh

www.completetax.com www.taxslayer.com http://www.taxactonline.com

...

On Thu, 27 Jan 2005 19:25:17 -0500, Patrick Shanahan

wrote:

...
* Paul W. Abrahams [01-27-05 19:18]:

...
Does anyone know of an up-to-date income tax program for Linux along the lines of TurboTax or TaxCut? I think I know the answer -- no -- but please, someone, tell me I'm wrong!

OK, you are wrong, but you are *not*.

-- Patrick Shanahan Registered Linux User #207535 http://wahoo.no-ip.org @ http://counter.li.org HOG # US1244711 Photo Album: http://wahoo.no-ip.org/photos

-- Check the headers for your unsubscription address For additional commands send e-mail to suse-linux-e-help@suse.com Also check the archives at http://lists.suse.com Please read the FAQs: suse-linux-e-faq@suse.com

-- Ganeshram Iyer 415 South Oak St #117 Arlington, TX, 76010 Ph (H) - 817-274-7827

Jeffrey L. Taylor

13:56

New subject: [SLE] Tax programs for Linux -- "say it ain't so!"

Quoting ?rn Einar Hansen :

...

?ann F?studagur 28 jan?ar 2005 05:23 skrifa?i Paul W. Abrahams:

...
I wonder if Wine can handle the latest Turbotax (or for that matter the latest TaxCut). Personally, I find TurboTax much easier to use than TaxCut, and it also has a much better collection of IRS instructions.

Taxes, that's something you do in a Spreadsheet ... with all the spreadsheet guru's in the world, I'd have thought someone had made one for every tax system there is. :-)

THere is/was one, amtax. Tried it several years ago. Pain to use and limited. If your US taxes will fit on the 1040EZ or 1040A it might be adequate. Mine don't. Plus there are state taxes in most states. Jeffrey

Felix Miata

17:21

New subject: [SLE] Tax programs for Linux -- "say it ain't so!"

Örn Einar Hansen wrote:

...

Taxes, that's something you do in a Spreadsheet ... with all the spreadsheet guru's in the world, I'd have thought someone had made one for every tax system there is. :-)

When I was in the practice of public accounting, we used special puter programs to file tax returns, bookkeeping software for bookkeeping, and spreadsheets for general purpose number crunching. Spreadsheets don't lend themselves very well to fill-in-a-form work, which is what tax returns are. -- "The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God." 1 Corinthians 1:18 NIV Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 Felix Miata *** http://members.ij.net/mrmazda/

Doug McGarrett

29 Jan 29 Jan

00:58

New subject: [SLE] Tax programs for Linux -- "say it ain't so!"

No, taxes are _not_ something you do in a spreadsheet. No-one does, not even the mavens you hire to do taxes. Without knowing every single tax law, and spending untold hours importing them into the spreadsheet, you cannot do taxes with a spreadsheet. And if you are sufficiently expert to do that, you name your program "Tax-Cut" or something like that, and sell it. --doug At 02:04 PM 1/28/2005 +0100, Örn Einar Hansen wrote:

...

Þann Föstudagur 28 janúar 2005 05:23 skrifaði Paul W. Abrahams:

...
I wonder if Wine can handle the latest Turbotax (or for that matter the latest TaxCut). Personally, I find TurboTax much easier to use than TaxCut, and it also has a much better collection of IRS instructions.

Taxes, that's something you do in a Spreadsheet ... with all the spreadsheet guru's in the world, I'd have thought someone had made one for every tax system there is. :-)

...
As the title of this thread indicates, I'm not the least bit surprised that there aren't any tax programs for Linux. Producing such a program is not only a very specialized business, but it requires that the job be done again every year. That's not a prospect that attracts many writers of open source code.

Paul

-- Check the headers for your unsubscription address For additional commands send e-mail to suse-linux-e-help@suse.com Also check the archives at http://lists.suse.com Please read the FAQs: suse-linux-e-faq@suse.com

Carlos E. R.

11:15

New subject: [SLE] Tax programs for Linux -- "say it ain't so!"

The Friday 2005-01-28 at 19:58 -0500, Doug McGarrett wrote:

...

No, taxes are _not_ something you do in a spreadsheet. No-one does, not even the mavens you hire to do taxes. Without knowing every single tax law, and spending untold hours importing them into the spreadsheet, you cannot do taxes with a spreadsheet. And if you are sufficiently expert to do that, you name your program "Tax-Cut" or something like that, and sell it.

Hum. :-? Years ago, like 20, specialized magazine here (Spain) published spread sheets to do just that, taxes. At the time you had to fill the data manually on the forms (manually meaning ball pen), so it didn't matter that the programs didn't fill the forms at all. As I was too young and money-less at the time to fill tax forms, I can't say if they were any good. Currently, our goverment provides the necesary software: a standalone windows program, and a networked java version, that prints every thing, including the official forms, filled. Thus, there is very little market for companies to roll their own software. I have not seen open source projects, even smaller market. But our tax agency is somewhat linux friendly, they don't frown at you when we mention linux - they even reported on the use of linux browsers with them, which one worked and which didn't :-) -- even more, they cooperated with mozilla developpers (the crypto signing function), and have set up a dummy test site. Nice, isn't it? How about a form-filling engine, to use by programmers? Then it would only require to add each country rules to have a tax-filling program. It would serve for many other purposes. OO? -- Cheers, Carlos Robinson

7048

Age (days ago)

7049

Last active (days ago)

List overview

Download

12 comments

12 participants

participants (12)

Bruce Marshall
Carlos E. R.
Doug McGarrett
Felix Miata
Ganeshram Iyer
Jeffrey L. Taylor
Ken Schneider
linux
Patrick Shanahan
Paul W. Abrahams
Per Jessen
Örn Einar Hansen