I used to buy the package at the store and go through all the rebate nightmares, but now I find I like the online version much better. This year, I came across something very interesting in the way they’ve marketed their product. If you keep a close eye on their promotions, you can save some big money on the the product itself!
Using Rewards or Perk Programs
So, I am a member of the Borders Rewards program. They recently signed me up for their Perks program. It turns out they are offering 30% off TurboTax just for going through their portal when you do your taxes. Since signup for Borders card is free and it cost me nothing to join the Perks program, I’d say I’ll take them up on that offer! But, wait…I had already started to do my taxes online with TurboTax before I got this little tid bit in my email. Could I still use it?
It took me a while to figure out, but the answer appears to be yes! It asks you when you get back to the site if you already have an account with TurboTax and I did. I don’t know if this is because they can’t tell who was a past customer from previous years or whether it was because they don’t want complaints from people midway through their taxes that they didn’t get the discount! Anyways, I tried it several ways just to see what price popped up on their website.
Referral Sites With Discounts
Going to the website directly by typing up Turbotax’s url, I got a nice listing of products but no Home and Business. In it’s place was something called Personal Pro at a whopping $99.95. I think they’re hoping you’ll give up doing your taxes on your own, if you own a business and get their tax professionals to do it for you. So, by strategically placing this there instead of the Home and Business product, they make a few sales. If you have to click elsewhere to find the actual product you used last year, you might simply think they no longer offer it and your choices are limited. However, if you look for more of their products, you finally locate their Home and Business product and it is $74.95 regularly, not including the State file. Now, the interesting thing is that the above link I gave through Amazon is offering the same product for $69.99 with the State File.
Now, here’s the thing I really don’t get. The same place that sent me the Perks card for Borders is affiliated with Amazon. When you click on their help icon, it takes you to Amazon.com. So, what the heck? How come you can get the TurboTax Home and Business for $52.45 through them? I guess that’s why they call it a perk! It still doesn’t include the state filing, however, and I am not sure it won’t end up being more than $69.99 when all is said and done. Check out all of Amazon’s tax deals here
Always Walk Through The Right Door
At any rate, just remember, if you don’t complete your taxes in that session, you will have to access your portal again to get the same prices. They switch them depending on who is referring you and their website home pages changes accordingly. It’s like a little tax labyrinth to make our tax experience even more enjoyable this season! Regardless, I love TurboTax and think they are the best product out there. Saving a little money is nice too, though, even for a regular customer like me.
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