TaxAct’s flow feels jerky sometimes, and it lacks the smooth transitions of TurboTax. I also found IRS instructions sometimes being offered as an option. All tax prep sites do this occasionally, but TaxAct does it more than some. Fill out your basic information, including your name, address, Social Security number, birthday, marital status, dependent information, and more. In general, the quickest way to get your refund is to file electronically and choose Direct Deposit rather than receiving a mailed check.
How Much Does TaxAct Cost?
TaxAct used to offer full-service tax preparation services, called Xpert Full Service, but this is no longer available. And for tax preparation software downloads, TurboTax also provides more affordable options. TaxAct first wants personal information, like your birth date, Social Security number, and filing status.
How to File Your Basic Federal Tax Return for Free in 2023
If you need full preparation services or want to download the software, consider using TurboTax. But if you want to e-file your federal return online, TurboTax offers a generally simpler system that lends itself especially well to simple filing. Choosing between the two for more complex filing will depend on what you’re willing to pay for, but TurboTax’s software and system are more robust. If your tax situation is complicated for one reason or another, you may need to choose a different tax software provider. Here are a couple of filers for whom TaxAct’s tools and services might fall flat. You’ll have the option to either prepare your returns and file directly through TaxAct’s online platform or download the software onto your computer and prepare your returns locally on your own device.
Leverage our tax checklists to help organize your information before filing.
Like most other tax software, TaxAct uses a question and answer model to guide you through your tax return. You’ll enter answers by filling out blank boxes, clicking tiles on a grid, answering simple yes or no questions or selecting options from drop-down lists. For example, if you have investment https://turbo-tax.org/ income such as rental property income and want to use TaxAct to file, you’ll definitely want to pay for the Premier plan. With this plan, you can report any income from your investments or businesses (except for freelance income) including real-estate investments, stocks, and royalties.
His biggest loves outside of the newsroom include, running, cooking, playing video games and collecting sneakers. TaxAct is a solid choice for families, but some families will be able to use the Free online plan while others will need to pay for at least Deluxe. To save yourself time, check out these resources before reaching out to the Xpert Assist team about easier questions.
TurboTax and H&R Block charge $129 and $115 for self-employed tiers, respectively. But there are less expensive options for self-employed individuals if $100 feels too steep. Filers who should probably stay away from TaxAct include those looking for completely free software.
Remember, the earlier you file, the earlier you’ll likely get your tax refund. Taxes aren’t fun, and you aren’t the only one who likes to procrastinate. There’s guaranteed to be a rush of taxpayers scrambling to file their returns the night of the tax deadline. While our site is built to handle large volumes of customers simultaneously, sometimes unpredictable things can happen.
- Check out this page for more detailed information about how to print the forms you need when finalizing your federal income tax return.
- You can claim the earned income tax credit, child tax credit and student loan interest.
- You can also request that an Xpert Assist representative review your returns before you submit them.
- Compared to TaxAct, TurboTax has higher prices in general for its products.
- Whether you consider yourself to be a beginner or intermediate investor, there’s no denying that filing taxes gets more complicated after you start investing.
These allow you to pick up where you left off with the online version, and do all the same work from your phone or tablet. A nice feature of the mobile app is the ability to snap a picture of your W2 form, if you have one, to have that automatically populate the forms. Some tax forms are not finalized and may not be for another month, but TaxAct will let you get very far along in the process in just a couple of hours. That is, assuming that you have at least a rough idea of what is going to show up on your W-2s and 1099s, and what your expenses are.
You’ll be walked through a broad range of business expenses and situations to help you identify and enter deductions and credits that may apply to your business. When you don’t pay your taxes, the government can issue a legal claim against your property called a tax lien. If you fail to pay your federal taxes without setting up an installment agreement, the IRS may take action by sending you a notice of federal tax lien. Yes, TaxAct is really free for those who qualify, but only for federal filing. State filing for the basic free version is an additional $39.99. When you first initiate the tax filing process with TaxAct, you will be guided through a series of questions.
The IRS lets taxpayers set up short-term (balance due paid in 180 days or less) and long-term payment plans. In this article, we’ll be discussing long-term plans called installment agreements that allow you to break up your tax bill into more manageable monthly payments. A welcoming bookmarking feature in TaxAct lets you flag any part of your tax return for review or edit later. Simply click the bookmark symbol at the top of any page to add a section to your list of saved pages accessible under “My Return” in the left-hand nav. If you do want professional help and have a complicated tax situation, we recommend comparing the costs of Xpert Assist with competitors, like we have above, and with a local CPA to find the best fit. I found that TaxAct catches errors or missing information on imported W-2 forms just fine.
We’ll also give you some tips to help ensure you have a smooth, positive experience. Our online basic federal SKU is free and includes your tax return essentials like W-2 income plus retirement and unemployment income. You can also claim popular tax breaks for dependents and current students like the Child Tax Credit or Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). If your taxes are more complicated, you can upgrade to one of TaxAct’s other offerings, then pay only when you file. Delays are always frustrating, and there are many ways they can happen. Inaccurate or incomplete information, math errors, and missing signatures are common reasons your federal tax return may be delayed.
This service is a little more basic than others and offers the best value and platform for those who don’t need to claim many deductions, report several different types of income, or itemize. With Xpert Assist, you can get support filing taxes at any time. This service is a $59.99 add-on to all TaxAct plans including the free version. There is no limit to how many times you can talk with tax experts when using Xpert Assist.
Here’s a look at the various ways you can find answers and get guidance when filing your return with TaxAct. Embedded links throughout offer tips, explainers and other resources, and the help center links to a searchable knowledge base. Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. TaxAct does a good job of guiding you through the steps of recording W2 or 1099-NEC income, and expenses. In particular, TaxAct doesn’t automatically ask you to itemize every single category of expense.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a first-time filer, avid investor, small business owner, or self-employed freelancer — we’ll walk you through the process. Tax preparation software like TaxAct® is designed to guide taxpayers through the online tax filing process with ease. We start by asking you for basic information about yourself and any dependents you might have.
TaxAct works with ProtectionPlus to offer its clients free, full-service audit assistance. Customers can also buy audit defense from ProtectionPlus for $49.95. TaxAct says that if there is an issue with its calculations TaxAct will pay up to $100,000 to cover audit and legal costs. Getting audited is scary, so it’s important to know what kind of support you’re getting from your tax software. First, be sure you know the difference between “support” and “defense.” With most providers, audit support (or “assistance”) typically means guidance about what to expect and how to prepare — that’s it.
You’ll then be served contextual links that provide relevant support as you complete your tax return. Forms and schedules accepted by TaxAct’s Free tier are fairly generous compared with top competitors, especially TurboTax. You can claim the earned income tax credit, child tax credit and student loan interest. It also supports dependents, taxactonline unemployment and retirement benefits. You can only take the standard deduction, but you can receive education credits and take the elderly and disabled credits available in Schedule R. TaxAct covers almost all tax situations and is cheaper than TurboTax and H&R Block — assuming you don’t qualify to file for free on those services.
TaxAct is too pricey to be considered a budget service, but it continues a long tradition of reliability and thoroughness. For inexpensive prep and filing, you should look to FreeTaxUSA, one of Editors’ Choice winners this year. It has a surprising amount of help for a free product, and it’s comprehensive and easy to use. If you want the best of everything and your budget allows it, consider our other two Editors’ Choice winners, Intuit TurboTax for the best overall experience and H&R Block for the best context-sensitive help.
