There’s only three sure things in life: death, taxes, and the fact that your trusted politician of choice will eventually turn out to be just as slimy as the next one. TurboTax aims to help with one of the three, and you don’t get any points for guessing which. The mobile version of TurboTax SnapTax has been updated for 2012 United States tax returns, and you can download the app for free in the Android Market.
As dull and boring (and frustrating) as taxes can be, SnapTax actually has some pretty cool features. Use your Android phone’s camera to snap a photo of your simple W2 tax return, answer the relevant questions presented, and you’re done. Of course, accountants don’t work for free, even when they’re the tiny ones that live inside your phone: you’ll need to pony up $20 to complete the filing of your federal and state taxes. That price is good up until March 24th, and includes E-filing. That’s not a bad asking price, considering the headache-inducing chore that doing it yourself represents. You can set up a direct deposit to your bank account, and all data sent to TurboTax is encrypted.
There’s only so much an app can do with the United States’ convoluted tax code, so developer Intuit doesn’t recommend using the SnapTax app if you’ve got children or other dependents, use tax forms other than a W-2, or make more than $100,000 a year. Still, if you’ve got a relatively simple tax return and want to spend a little to save a lot of time, it’s well worth the small fee. Even if you don’t actually file, you can see how much you owe or how big your tax return will be without paying a cent.
