Press Releases

TurboTax Software For 2002 Helps Taxpayers Face A Trying Year With Confidence
Customers can choose "Right for Me" desktop products and services that address relevant issues, prepare returns with peace of mind
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - December 02, 2002 - In a year when many Americans have taken an unpleasant ride on an economic roller coaster, it is time to see how those financial decisions affect the bottom line. Starting today, taxpayers can find out the impact of their decisions as Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU), maker of TurboTax products, the No. 1-selling tax preparation software, makes available its Tax Year 2002 products and services that give customers an easy, accurate and complete way to prepare and file their taxes.

This year Intuit is introducing a number of new solutions that address the individual tax needs of millions of individual taxpayers during tax preparation, including three new desktop products: TurboTax Deluxe Investor Edition, TurboTax Retirement Planning Edition and TurboTax en Español. More avenues for getting advice are also available this year, providing extra assurance for concerned self-preparers.

"Due to this year's economic downturn and the various other issues it's triggered, taxpayers are dealing with many special issues that need to be individually addressed during tax preparation," said Tom Allanson, senior vice president of Intuit's Consumer Tax Division. "By offering specially designed tax saving solutions that match specific customer profiles and needs, TurboTax for Tax Year 2002 products are more than ever before, the best partner a taxpayer can have."
 
Making Taxes Less Taxing
As part of the "Right for Me" strategy announced in September, Intuit's new suite of TurboTax desktop software and new add-on services are designed to make preparing and filing taxes less taxing. In addition to the many well-known TurboTax products for personal and business use - TurboTax Basic, Deluxe, Premier, Business and Premier Home & Business -- this year's new offerings for specific customer profiles include:
  • TurboTax Deluxe Investor Edition: specifically designed for taxpayers who want to optimize tax savings and manage their own investments and securities. It includes extra help and guidance for investments such as the Cost/Basis Calculator, 401(k) Maximizer and IRA Analyzer.
  • TurboTax Deluxe Retirement Planning Edition: the perfect solution for anyone who is retired or proactively planning for retirement in the next ten years. Tools to optimize retirement-related investments while minimizing their tax bill include a Retirement Planner and a Retirement Age Analyzer.
  • TurboTax en Español: the first tax preparation software with a Spanish language interview, Frequently Asked Questions and technical support (also available in English).

In addition to adding more customer-specific products to make tax preparation easier, this year TurboTax has added several new features to streamline the tax preparation process and help customers stay better informed of pertinent tax issues year round. These features include:

  • My Tax History: a function of the TurboTax EasyStep interview that changes to fit each customer's unique tax situation. By using more tax information from previous years' returns, it gives customers the ability to streamline the TurboTax interview process by eliminating unnecessary questions.
  • My TurboTax.com: a free personalized online subscription-based service offering year-round help and customized actions to save money and organize with personalized tax content, tools and alerts.
 
More Professional Advice for Do-it-Yourself Tax Preparer
For do-it-yourself preparers who want some extra advice, validation or peace of mind, TurboTax Live Tax Advice enables customers to access a network of professional tax experts via phone for a flat fee of $19.95 for 10 minutes. For those that want to prepare their own return but still want it reviewed by a tax professional, Professional Tax Review, provided by TaxResources, Inc., allows the customer to securely transmit their return to a tax professional who will review it and send it back via a PDF file with additional comments or advice.
 
Moving Closer to a 10-Minute Tax Return
Intuit this year will again help millions of taxpayers prepare their taxes faster and more accurately, saving them time and money - moving them closer to Intuit's vision of a 10-minute tax return.

Thanks to the relationships with over 50 companies and financial institutions who participate in the TurboTax Instant Data Entry (IDE) program, a revolutionary technology introduced by Intuit two years ago, customers can import common tax information - from forms like W-2, 1098 and 1099 - directly into their TurboTax return. By using IDE, taxpayers are able to streamline the tax preparation process and significantly reduce the amount of time spent completing their tax return. In addition, IDE helps the customer prepare a more accurate return by reducing the chances of errors during the data entry process.

This year, with the addition of ADP Employer Services, a division of ADP, Inc. (NYSE: ADP), the leading provider of comprehensive integrated outsourced payroll and human resource services, Intuit is able to provide over 30 million employees the option of importing their W-2 tax information directly into their TurboTax return.

Also new this year, TurboTax customers will have the opportunity to maximize their savings when it comes to non-cash charitable deductions by using ItsDeductible™, a revolutionary software tool from Income Dynamics, Inc. that includes a proprietary database of actual fair-market valuations for thousands of commonly donated items. Purchased separately, ItsDeductible can be downloaded directly from within TurboTax for a discounted price available only to TurboTax customers.
 
A Solution for Everyone
Intuit designs affordable tax preparation software for taxpayers no matter how simple or complex their situation may be. With products ranging from just $19.95 to $99.95, Intuit offers a TurboTax product for every need. For more pricing information, visit www.intuit.com/turbotaxpress.
 
About TurboTax
In its 19th tax season, TurboTax was the No.1-selling tax preparation software program in 2001, with 71 percent share of units sold at retail according to NPD Intelect. Its Web-based counterpart, the TurboTax for the Web service, is the most popular site for online tax preparation and filing services. With more than 19 years of personal finance expertise, the TurboTax family of products saves time and money for more than 15 million Americans each year.
 
About Intuit Inc.
Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) is a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for small businesses, consumers and accounting professionals. Its flagship products and services, including QuickBooks®, Quicken® and TurboTax®, simplify small business management and payroll processing, personal finance, and tax preparation and filing.

Founded in 1983, Intuit has annual revenue of more than $1 billion. The company has over 6,000 employees with major offices in 11 states across the U.S. and offices in Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom. More information can be found at www.Intuit.com.
 
This press release includes forward-looking statements about Intuit's consumer tax strategy and the features and benefits of Intuit's TurboTax products and other products that Intuit offers with or through TurboTax. Statements with words like "expect," "anticipate" or "believe," and statements in the future tense, are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from Intuit's expressed expectations because of risks and uncertainties about the future. Some of the important factors that could cause Intuit's results to differ are listed below. More details about these and other risks are included in Intuit's fiscal 2002 Form 10-K and other SEC filings and at www.intuit.com/company/investors/considerations.html. The company will not update the information in this press release if any forward-looking statement later turns out to be inaccurate.
  • Intuit's revenue and earnings are highly seasonal, which causes significant quarterly fluctuations in its revenue and net income.
  • Intuit faces competitive pressures in all of its businesses, which can have a negative impact on its revenue, profitability and market position. In particular, if federal and /or state government agencies are ultimately successful in their efforts to provide tax preparation and filing services to consumers, it could have a significant negative impact on Intuit's financial results in future years.
  • Intuit relies on three vendors to handle substantially all outsourced aspects of manufacturing and distribution for its primary retail desktop software products. If one of these vendors fails to perform, it could have severe negative consequences for Intuit's software businesses.
  • If Intuit fails to maintain reliable and responsive service levels for its electronic tax offerings, it could lose revenue and customers.
  • If Intuit experiences significant problems or delays in the development of its tax products, Intuit could lose revenue and customers.
  • Intuit faces risks relating to customer privacy and security and increasing governmental regulation, which could hinder the growth of its businesses.
  • Despite Intuit's efforts to adequately staff and equip its customer service and technical support operations, it cannot always respond promptly to customer requests for assistance.
  • Actual product returns may exceed product return reserves, particularly for Intuit's tax preparation software.
  • A continuation of the recent general decline in economic conditions could lead to significantly reduced demand for Intuit's products and services.

Intuit, the Intuit logo, Quicken, QuickBooks, TurboTax, EasyStep and TurboTax for the Web, among others, are registered trademarks and/or registered service marks of Intuit Inc. in the United States and other countries. Other parties' trademarks or service marks are the property of their respective owners and should be treated as such.