New laptop?

An Apple product would sync with your iPhone.

post a link to one of these ultra cheap computers

Don’t know how to link this. Walmart has a Lenovo 3 11” celeron 4gb/32gb chromebook for $169.

I have had 2 Toshiba's and last year had to get a new laptop... cocker spaniel stood on keyboard and locked the whole thing up! Yes, my fault. But, I bought a HP at WalMart for maybe 200. Needed one with a CD (or DVD) in it for pictures I had on CD's and other things. This one is now about 18 months old and is literally coming apart. As far as working, it does what I need it to. And that is about all I can say. You get what you pay for.

DC&MC wrote:
Don’t know how to link this. Walmart has a Lenovo 3 11” celeron 4gb/32gb chromebook for $169.

With a ChromeBook, you're basically doing everything online so a locally installed version of TaxAct probably won't work. https://platypusplatypus.com/chromebooks/file-taxes/

DC&MC wrote:
Ok you tekkies I need some advice. My laptop is very old. Now use my IPhone for about everything. I want a new laptop that I can use to ‘surf the web’, use Tax Act for taxes, maybe to type a letter or something now and then, and maybe be able to check emails on my hotmail and gmail accounts. I’m seeing some in the mid to low $100’s. Is there something I need to look for to be sure I can do these things?

if you're not familiar with Chromebooks you should read this:

https://www.cnet.com/news/laptop-vs-chromebook-whats-the-difference-and-which-is-best-in-2020/

Chromebook is good with the possible exception of Tax act. You just can't install and run programs sans hard drive.

DC&MC wrote:
Ok you tekkies I need some advice. My laptop is very old. Now use my IPhone for about everything. I want a new laptop that I can use to ‘surf the web’, use Tax Act for taxes, maybe to type a letter or something now and then, and maybe be able to check emails on my hotmail and gmail accounts. I’m seeing some in the mid to low $100’s. Is there something I need to look for to be sure I can do these things?

Everything you want to do can be done on your iPhone, but I suspect it’s a bit too small for doing them comfortably. If I were you (and I already made the transition) I’d go get an iPad. The IPad and IPhone work well together, sync all kinds of stuff between them, and no more Windows required.

Both my wife and I have them, we share calendars between them, and do everything on them. We also both have some older Microsoft Surfaces which gather dust from lack of use. I use mine once a year to use my tax software and then it goes back into the closet.

You can use a chromebook and do Taxact online. No need for a disc.

Tax Act might be good but I have filed with Credit Karma the last couple of years. It's quick, accurate and free!
As to the actual laptop, the cheapies are likely Chromebooks which are great for accessing online content but not so good for software you might like to reside on your computer. I looked around for a few months and found a great deal on a Windows laptop at Office Depot (or Max) with touch screen (required) and a large SSD for the best speed. Using that today and it was less than $500.