While filing taxes is not pleasant, Turbo Tax lessens the pain. It is very easy to use, with an interview process that takes you through the process step-by-step. If you prefer, you can also go directly to the forms and work with the raw materials. The software includes a number of reference materials to help you minimize your taxes, as well as tracking all of the latest tax-law changes.

One of the things I found most helpful is that TurboTax will automatically load last year's tax return, if that was filed with TurboTax. Not only will this save you time and effort, but when I did my daughter's tax return, it also saved her money. In addition to handling your federal taxes, you can also download a state tax module to complete your state taxes. The data entered on your federal return is automatically transferred to your state return, so you save data-entry time.

Other time-savers include electronic filing of both federal and state taxes. With electronic filing, both of my children received their refunds in less than ten days, deposited directly to their checking accounts.

While doing tax returns is never pleasant, TurboTax certainly does reduce the pain.