Preferred 2018 tax estimator?

[TomTX]

Lots of free sites out there (and yes, there is the Mustachian Spreadsheet of DOOOOM)

I am looking to estimate my 2018 taxes before the end of the year. Anyone have a preference?

Examples:

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/taxcaster/#

https://www.hrblock.com/tax-calculator/

https://www.efile.com/tax-service/tax-calculator/2018-tax-calculator/

[AccidentalMiser]

I've always used Block.  They are generally more accurate than the others I have tried.

[flow321]

I've always used Block.  They are generally more accurate than the others I have tried.

Thank you for this useful tip. Never knew about this before

[secondcor521]

I use taxact.com.  They already are live with their online tax preparation product for 2018.  Although they haven't done my state yet, their state tax owed amount seems pretty close to correct (I suspect it's based on their 2017 state software).

I can get my numbers into the program pretty quickly by just picking the applicable areas of the return, and then I can change the numbers to play with scenarios reasonably quickly.

Also, and I especially like this part, it is possible to get a PDF of the entire federal return right now (by trying to file a paper copy) without paying anything.  Sometime after the first of the year I think they lock that ability down.  So I can now see what my federal return will probably look like based on the new 2018 forms (they're a bit different from 2017 forms).

[EarthSurfer]

I have found the 1040 Tax Calculator at MortgageCalculator.org (https://www.mortgagecalculator.org/calcs/1040-calculator.php) to be very useful.

This calculator is more of a spreadsheet type calculator rather than an interview format. You need to know some tax terminology, but it should be intuitive for anyone who has managed his or her own taxes with investments.

Additionally, I have found the ACA Subsidy Calculator at HealthInsurance.org (https://www.healthinsurance.org/obamacare/subsidy-calculator/) to be incredibly helpful to understand the incremental effects of additional income on the subsidy. (This is something of a 'tax' depending on one's viewpoint.)

Cheers,
EarthSurfer

[bortman]

I came here to post a question similar to the OP, hoping to make the tax implications of my first tIRA to Roth conversion a little easier to get my head around.

I've been using TaxAct to file my taxes for years, but I find their interface is tedious, especially when running multiple scenarios.

I ended up using EarthSurfer's suggestion of mortgagecalculator.org. What a great tool! As a result, I have a better understanding of how my pre-2018 taxes have been calculated, and how things changed for 2018. I hope they keep their 2017 sheet online for future reference.

I also came across Nerdwallet's estimator in my initial search (https://www.nerdwallet.com/taxes/tax-calculator). Their wizard is annoying, but once you enter your numbers you can work scenarios in a similar manner to mortgagecalculator.org

Anyway, just wanted to thank this thread for being a step ahead of me.

Thanks!