but I did want to say, you could probably borrow a computer and do your taxes (do you have a friend that would lend you a laptop?)

Also, some of the refurb's on newegg are under $100. I had one for a few years (super fast . I'm actually going to get another one, soon.

Definitely cheaper than taking the taxes to an accountant.

Is there a particular refurb model I should look for, or stay away from?

which might help:
https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=215209

You might get another couple of years out of it without too much expense.

I completely understand the frustration of essential programs that will only run in Windows. There is another option that you may not have considered; restoring the original Windows by returning the machine to its factory state.

Practically every new laptop comes with a hidden partition containing a copy of the original operating system. You may not even be aware of its existence. Accessing this feature differs on every machine so I would suggest Googling (laptop make/model) + "restore factory state" and see if you can get a set of instructions.

Once you work out how to do it, the process should be quite simple as in following the prompts on screen. Agree to everything and say yes, you are SURE!

to do that for me after I move to the new apartment in March. The shop is only about 20 minutes from my new apartment, while I have been
living about 3 hours away.

and situation, now and into the future. Your TurboTax investment won't be wasted and you can access and work with your photos.

Otherwise not so much.

Fresh install of windows on your current laptop would be the simplest path forward. If the laptop dies in six months so what? Meanwhile you’ll have a functional system to do your taxes and process your photos and you can get on with the divorce mess.

Macs are fine, I personally hate their user interface, other people love it, but as usual you can get an equivalent windows laptop for about 3/4 the price of the Mac, and you can get a lower end windows laptop at half the price or less as Apple doesn’t really bother with that end of the market.

and also have linux too.. I think it's called a dual boot. Run Linux as you always have and just run Windows when you need windows programs... Best of both worlds.. Your computer guy or your son could do this for you.
m

I don't play video games, etc on it.
It does all I need and has Windows 10.

have bought dozens for myself and my company. They have always served me well. I've had some of them for over 10 years.

You might want to go and see if they have anything you want.
IMO, stay away from HP. I've never had good luck with them at all.
If you get a computer with win10, get an app called Classic Shell and it will look and act like windows 7, which most like better than 10.

here is the link for Dell Outlet. http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/Online/InventorySearch.aspx?brandId=2201&c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh&dgc=IR&cid=258996&lid=4635114&~ck=mn

good luck with your search

edit: get as much ram as you can afford for your image processing. I do photoshop work every day with files up to 300meg and having lots of ram is essential.

You can use TurboTax in a browser now.

Just did them myself that way after using the stand alone software for years.

https://turbotax.intuit.com

which requires one version of TurboTax to generate a K1 that is used to file personal taxes. Required to file itemized return when married filing separately because my husband will be filing an itemized return, too. Our taxes were never easy to do, but I had been doing them for us to file jointly for years.

I wish it were so easy, but circumstances do not allow filing an easy return this year.

is there a special version other than deluxe or premier?

your browser. You don't need to install anything, just sign in with your credentials. https://www.turbotax.com/

which I need to file 1041 for a Trust which then generates the K1 used for personal taxes.

So I need a windows machine to either use the CD or download the business software.

https://turbotax.intuit.com/small-business-taxes/

I don't see an online browser version either. I used to use Oracle VirtualBox running Windows on my Linux box since first released way back, but then found I no longer needed it. Yes, it can be a bit daunting sometimes setting up and using Oracle VirtualBox running Windows. I spent my life in Linux and UNIX. To be frank, I would go the Windows route if that works for you and you already have the software, etc. Wish I could be of more help.

the interface between the VirtualBox and Linux and the computer repair shop guy wasn't familiar enough
with Linux to be able to fix it so he couldn't even put a new VirtualBox on it.

I also discovered when I was researching your original idea about just using TurboTax in my browser that there is
no Business version to run on a Mac! That means even if I do give up on this laptop and buy myself a Mac
next fall, I'm still going to need a machine running Windows as long as I'm doing my own taxes. After the divorce
my own taxes are going to be so simple there is no point in taking them to an accountant, but it's my trust so
I still will need the Business version just to do those taxes.

I'm leaning towards the idea of finding a cheap refurb running Windows to do the taxes now and saving up to
splurge on a Mac next fall. No more Linux.

and straight forward to use. Using VirtualBox to run windows on Linux works, but sometimes it's a bit funky, especially if one is really not too technical and really doesn't need it.

in a partition and run either OS as needed. If your PC came with windows you don't need an activation key, and if it came with a funny flavor like Win 8 Home you can download Win 10 Pro, which is better, install it, and run it without activating it. It doesn't look like you can but last I checked you can. Windows will set up a dual-boot startup menu during the installation if it finds another Windows OS, but how it handles Linux I don't know. You might have to download the boot menu. Anyway it's a free work-around if you're in a jam.