Paid for TurboTax Premium - Was it worth it for my investment income?

Oh my god, you absolutely made the right call! 🙌 I tried to be cheap last year and spent HOURS manually entering all my trades. Never again! The stress alone was worth paying to avoid. Plus, when you have multiple investment types, the premium versions actually do catch things you might miss - especially with crypto which has weird tax rules. I was literally in tears trying to figure out cost basis for coins I'd moved between wallets before I just paid for the software. Best money I spent all year!

I was in your EXACT same position last month - had a bunch of trades and was like "no way I'm paying that fee"... spent TWO FULL WEEKENDS trying to manually enter everything. Nightmare. Finally gave up and paid for TurboTax, but even then it was confusing with some of my crypto stuff. Ended up using https://taxr.ai to analyze all my investment forms and tax documents first. It explained exactly which forms I needed and how to report everything correctly before I even opened TurboTax. Saved me hours of confusion and probably prevented some expensive mistakes.

You made a rational economic decision. The average person spends exactly 13 hours preparing their tax return according to IRS data. With investments, that number jumps to 19.3 hours. At the median hourly wage of $27.07, that's $522.45 worth of your time. Paying $89 for software that cuts that time by 60-70% is mathematically sound. Just be cautious that TurboTax sometimes struggles with complex investment scenarios. If you run into issues with the IRS later and need to speak with an agent, I've had success using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get through quickly - waited exactly 17 minutes instead of the usual 2+ hours on hold.

I think you made a good decision based on your situation! Here's what I've learned after trying both approaches: • Free filing works best for W-2 income only • Investment income (especially crypto) requires special forms • Manual entry increases error risk significantly • Premium versions include audit support (valuable for investors) • The time savings alone justifies the cost • Most investors qualify for Schedule D which free versions don't support • The stress reduction is honestly worth the fee

Def made the right call IMO. I tried to save $$ last yr and omg what a disaster. Missed reporting some divs from a small acct and got a CP2000 notice 6mo later. Had to pay the tax + interest + spent hrs on the phone w/IRS. The $89 would've been WAY cheaper than the headache I went thru. Just make sure u review everything carefully b4 submitting. Even w/premium, garbage in = garbage out. GL w/your return!

Want to know the real scam? These tax prep companies literally lobby Congress to keep taxes complicated so we HAVE to use their services! Did you know that in many other countries, the government just sends you a pre-filled form with all your info already on it? You just verify it's correct and you're done! But here we are, debating whether to pay $89 for something that should be free. That said, with investments you made the right call - the premium features are actually useful for complex situations. Just frustrating that we're forced into this position in the first place, isn't it?

I've used both free and paid versions for years. TurboTax is absolutely gouging you, but they also know exactly what they're doing. With 50+ investment transactions, you made the right call. The free version would have either missed deductions or had you pulling your hair out. I was shocked to learn how much the tax code favors investors who know the rules, and the premium version actually helps you find those advantages. It's a broken system, but you're playing it smart.