Income tax filing time is here! At least for me. I’m not a waiter or procrastinator, I like to get started as soon as possible. I have the basics of my forms in place before I even receive most of my paperwork.

For several years now I have been using Turbotax, and I am a big fan. It is not a perfect system, but it is pretty good. And when I discovered that the tax guy I had been using for years had a program that was essentially the same, I figured I didn’t need him any more. Any way, he always made mistakes. I mean, the calculations were always correct, but he would invariably stick a number in the wrong box and it would delay my returns for months while they moved a subtotal from box 55b to box 55c.

The best part about Turbotax is the user Q&A in a right column as you use the site. the questions asked are often hilarious. The answers are usually correct, and usually culled directly from the pop-up help throughout the site. That is, when the questions are actually answerable.

Some of my favorite recent questions in their entirety:

– What is up with Turbotax this year?
– My divorce is almost final and my girlfriend is unemployed. Can I claim her as a dependent?
– I did my taxes wrong and filed them and my husband is mad at me. What do I do?
– How come Turbotax makes me wait 10 days for my refund? If they can deliver the goods quicker it may be time to use another service.

I’m waiting for something like “What movies are playing at the Duluth multiplex tonight?” or “Can you recommend the best weight loss product for inmates?”