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I sold investments in a taxable account in 2013, include shares from an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP). I have always used TurboTax and am planning to again, but I'm trying to decide which version. I have state income taxes so getting at least Deluxe makes sense. I am debating between Deluxe and Premier though.

On the TurboTax website it says:

Get help accurately reporting investment sales
We'll walk you through reporting sales of stocks, bonds and mutual funds. We'll automatically calculate capital gains/losses and keep track of those that carry over to future tax returns.

Can anybody explain what exactly that includes? I know all my cost basis so calculating capital gains/losses should be pretty straightforward. I don't have over $3K in capital losses but if I did would TurboTax Deluxe not automatically carry that over to next year?

Also:

Get help with employee stock plans
Sold employee stock? We automatically determine your correct basis for shares purchased at different times or different prices.

Same general question here, what does this include? My W-2 shows the amount of my ESPP discount and hopefully my 1099 from my brokerage will correctly report my cost basis without the discount as per this question. So is it any more complicated than any other investment sale?

When is it worthwhile to spend the extra money on TurboTax Premier over Deluxe?

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Craig W
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For tax year 2014, TurboTax Deluxe no longer supports Schedule D.* TurboTax Premier is required if you need to use Schedule D.

Alternatively, H&R Block Tax Software Deluxe will handle Schedule D at a fraction of the cost of TurboTax Premier.

Update: Beginning with tax year 2015, TurboTax has reversed their disastrous decision and put the functionality back into Deluxe, making it once again an acceptable choice for the OP's situation. See this answer for more details. H&R Block Deluxe still handles this at less cost.

* Technically**, TurboTax Deluxe does include Schedule D and other schedules in what they call form mode; however, if you decide to use them, TurboTax Deluxe cripples itself, eliminating many of the features on this chart that you may have gotten used to, such as interview guidance and e-file.

** See https://xkcd.com/1475/

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Ben Miller
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Here are the lists for the tax forms that Deluxe and Premier include. I think you'll be fine with Deluxe because it sounds like all you need is the Schedule D/8949 forms. Deluxe actually includes most investment related forms.

jlewkovich
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I have found that using the online version can help determine the correct product.

Try Deluxe online, you can upload the data from last year. When you get to the key forms see what happens if you don't switch. Then switch to Premiere. Compare the results.

mhoran_psprep
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I have used turbo tax for years. Apart from the snafu in 2014, I have had no problem using deluxe, and I have lots of asset sales to report. I prefer form mode anyway. I can import the data from my broker, and I can e-file with no problem. So the only thing I'm missing is the support. I can usually find answers to questions on the web, anyway.

doc bee
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