# Can I use Turbo Tax?



## Ladyhawk

I am a US citizen but a long-time residentof Canada ( my entire adult life) and never filed US tax return because I didn;t know I had to.
I filed last year in haste because of the publicity around the OVDI programs and the FBAR business. I did it incorrectly and will have to redo it, but right now I am concerned about filing for 2011.
I am retired, and for 2011 I had very little income, none of it from wages. It was probably more than $3700 however.
Does anyone know if I can use TurboTax for this? With the investment income it may be complicated, and I also had a small rental income from renting out the land we live on to a farmer.
thanks for any help.


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## Bevdeforges

Moved your post out into a thread of its own so that maybe we can find someone familiar with Turbo Tax to help out.

Normally, you should be able to use TurboTax for most returns. The question is usually whether or not you can e-file with TurboTax, especially if you're looking to qualify under the free filing program. But TT should have all the necessary forms, and if nothing else should enable you to fill out your returns, print them off and then mail them in.

If you have no wage income, then form 1116 is your key to offsetting any taxes due against what you've already paid to the Canadian government. 
Cheers,
Bev


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## quincy

Ladyhawk said:


> I am a US citizen but a long-time residentof Canada ( my entire adult life) and never filed US tax return because I didn;t know I had to.
> I filed last year in haste because of the publicity around the OVDI programs and the FBAR business. I did it incorrectly and will have to redo it, but right now I am concerned about filing for 2011.
> I am retired, and for 2011 I had very little income, none of it from wages. It was probably more than $3700 however.
> Does anyone know if I can use TurboTax for this? With the investment income it may be complicated, and I also had a small rental income from renting out the land we live on to a farmer.
> thanks for any help.


Yes you can use Turbotax but efiling doesn't seem possible. I used it for back file 2006-2010 and then I used TaxAct for 2011 because it was cheaper and my situation was simpler. I also had rental income. I did find that form 1116 was a little difficult to complete even with the programs. The questions were confusing to me but eventually I got it to work out. 

I checked with the IRS last week and all of mt returns were processed with nothing owing. I'm assuming I did them correctly then.


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## quincy

quincy said:


> Yes you can use Turbotax but efiling doesn't seem possible. I used it for back file 2006-2010 and then I used TaxAct for 2011 because it was cheaper and my situation was simpler. I also had rental income. I did find that form 1116 was a little difficult to complete even with the programs. The questions were confusing to me but eventually I got it to work out.
> 
> I checked with the IRS last week and all of mt returns were processed with nothing owing. I'm assuming I did them correctly then.


Should have mentioned that I had to buy the downloadable turbotax from the web site, the online version wouldn't allow me to pay with a Canadian credit card and address. Wasted a lot of time inputting everything before I found out. TaxAct online worked.


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## Ladyhawk

quincy said:


> Should have mentioned that I had to buy the downloadable turbotax from the web site, the online version wouldn't allow me to pay with a Canadian credit card and address. Wasted a lot of time inputting everything before I found out. TaxAct online worked.


Thanks quincy, and Bev too for this information. I'm using Turbo tax to get everything down on paper, and I don't intend to efile anyway. I filled in the FBAR and printed it off already through TT, and they didn't charge me. I was surprised at that . I assumed I wouldn't be able to print anything unless I paid.


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