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Taxes

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In 2024, the IRS expects to receive more than 128 million tax returns. To make the process of filing your taxes (and hopefully receiving your refund) as painless as possible, choose an affordable, easy-to-follow online tax software.

To that end, we evaluated nine of the most popular online tax preparers, collecting nearly 50 data points on each and analyzing them to pick the best tax software for you.

Best tax software comparison table

Star ratingFederal filing feeState filing fee
Best overall: Cash App Taxes5.0$0$0
Runner-up: TurboTax4.68$0* to $459$0* to $64
Runner-up: H&R Block4.34$0 to $115$0 to $45
Runner-up: TaxSlayer4.19$0 to $62.95$0 to $39.95
Runner-up: TaxAct4.10$0 to $99.99$0 to $59.99
Prices are accurate as of March 14, 2024. State filings are separate. *File for free with TurboTax Free Edition. ~37% of taxpayers qualify. Form 1040 + limited credits only.

Why trust our banking experts

Our team of experts evaluates hundreds of banking and tax products and analyzes thousands of data points to help you find the best product for your situation. We use a data-driven methodology to determine each rating. Advertisers do not influence our editorial decisions. You can read more about our methodology below.

  • 8 tax software products reviewed.
  • 19 data points analyzed.
  • 4 levels of fact checking.

Best tax software

Methodology

We considered eight of the most popular tax preparation software in the U.S, including Cash App, TurboTax, TaxAct, TaxSlayer, H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt, Taxes to Go and Liberty Tax. We analyzed and scored them based on 19 separate data points, to ultimately create a star rating. A perfect score of 100 means the software would get five stars; a score of 80 would get four stars and so on.

Here are the categories we analyzed and how we weighted each.

Ease of use: 30%. Taxes are complicated enough — the tax software shouldn’t add to your stress. General ease of navigation, the presence of an FAQ section and the app ratings on Google Play, the Apple App Store and Trustpilot counted in this category.

Free filing options: 25%. Essentially paying for the joy of potentially coughing up more money to the government is counterintuitive. We rewarded softwares that offer great free filing options — the fewer qualifying limitations, the better.

Customer service options: 25%. Rather than go on a wild goose chase on the internet to find an answer that might not even be correct, it can be much simpler to contact a verified professional with your tax questions. We considered phone support, live chat, email help and the presence and quality of tooltips that are integrated into the software.

Price: 20%. All else being equal, we rewarded tax software platforms that charged less for its product. To be sure, some people’s tax situations are more complicated than others. But we believe that the majority of filers using tax software have relatively easy returns, and therefore dinged companies that charged more.

How to choose the the best tax software for your needs

Different tax prep programs offer different services at different prices. The key is to have a sense of what type of filer you are (simple return or complex or in between) and select accordingly. 

1. Figure out what your needs are

There are three questions to ask yourself:

  • How much help do you want? Software companies typically offer three flavors of available assistance — none (the cheapest), on-demand answers to your questions (the second most inexpensive) and the total package, wherein a professional does everything for you (the highest priced).
  • What tax forms do you need? If you plan to simply claim the standard deduction and file your one W-2 Form, you need only the basics. On the other end of the spectrum, if you run your own business or earn freelance income, you’ll likely need many forms. If you want to do itemized deductions and/or account for investment income, you’ll likely need something in the middle.
  • How much are you willing to pay? Here’s where your dreams of handing off a stack of paperwork may come to a crashing halt (or not). Typically, the more forms you need and the more assistance you want, the more you’ll shell out. You may not need to crack open your wallet, however. Many tax preparation companies allow you to pay for the service with your refund. You’ll, of course, need to net a refund big enough to cover it if you want this option.

2. Check out what’s available

Just because you see a specific tax preparation service advertised all the time, doesn’t mean it’s the best one. Do some research into the businesses. Make a list of the companies that have the forms you need and note the prices that they charge. Then narrow it down based on price, extra features or other elements you value. 

3. Switch it up if it’s not the right fit

If the tax software you start using turns out to not have the right forms or you want more help — or you just don’t like the software experience — you can often upgrade or switch to a different company. Many tax services don’t require that you pay upfront, which can make it easy to alter things on the fly.

How does tax software work?

You’ll typically begin by providing your name, address, contract information, Social Security number and other personal information. You’ll need to give the same information for any dependents you’re claiming, plus your own marital status. 

If you filed taxes last year, you may be asked for that year’s adjusted gross income as a way to further prove your identity, so it can be good to have your previous return on hand. 

Upload your income documents

To make things easier, many tax software platforms allow you to take a photo of tax forms and upload it, rather than typing in all the data yourself. You’ll still have the option to type it in and, if the software doesn’t allow photos, you’ll need to go old school and hit the keyboard yourself. You might also be able to simply enter your employer’s EIN code to upload all of your W-2 information if your employer participates in the program. 

Enter your credits and deductions

The tax code is vast and full of different credits and deductions that can lower your overall tax burden. The point of tax prep software is to help you access those tax goodies as easily as possible. 

For instance, popular credits include:

  • Earned Income Tax Credit.
  • American Opportunity Tax Credit.
  • Lifetime Learning Credit.
  • Child and Dependent Care Credit. 
  • Saver’s Tax Credit.

This can help you avoid missing out on opportunities you may not have known even existed.

“Part-time workers are more likely to meet the income eligibility of the Saver’s Credit, and are less likely to be aware of it,” said Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies chief executive Catherine Collinson. “If you don’t have a plan, there’s a good chance you might not know about it.”

Meanwhile, you may be able to deduct the following from your adjusted gross income:

  • Student loan interest.
  • Mortgage interest.
  • Donations to registered non-profits. 
  • Business expenses.
  • Contributions to special savings accounts, such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs). 

If you could save more money by itemizing your deductions rather than taking the standard deduction, you’ll need to enter in a potential slew of numbers. It may be more work but it’s all in the name of getting a bigger return. 

Any tax preparer worth its salt will prompt you with questions to see if you qualify for any potential credit or deduction in order to limit your tax burden. 

Review, sign and send

When finished, consider taking a break and then reviewing everything with fresh eyes to confirm it’s shipshape. If your tax software allows it, you can request that an expert also give it a once-over. 

When you’re satisfied, you’ll have to formally agree that everything in your filing is true and correct. Then you click a button or two to officially send it off to the relevant tax agencies.

Those who opt to have any refund directly deposited into their account, will have to provide their banking information.

Should I use tax software or hire a professional?

You should consider using a tax software if you’re up for taking on what’s hopefully a minor challenge. However, if you have a particularly gnarly financial situation, or doing taxes completely stresses you out, hiring a professional can be worth it.

Big life changes. A tax professional could help you best navigate the financial waves from big events that happened over the last year – or that will happen soon – including marriage, divorce, having a child, selling a home, gaining an inheritance, settling an estate and retirement.

Complicated income. The phrase “more money, more problems” is sometimes true. If you have income from a full-time employer, part-time employer, freelance job, a series of gigs, child support, alimony and/or government benefits, like unemployment or Social Security, things can become confusing quickly. 

Upcoming audit. If tax agencies notify you that you’re being audited, getting a certified public accountant (CPA) with audit experience could ultimately save you time, stress and money. 

Business ownership. The financial lifeblood of a company can be hard to manage and tricky to report. Not only do you have the normal income and expenses, you can also have depreciation, wages and much more. 

Serious investments. If you frequently deal or heavily invest in the stock market, especially crypto, it may be smart to have a professional look at the tango of transactions to determine what’s taxable. Various factors can intersect and change up what deductions and credits you qualify for, and how much you need to pay both Uncle Sam and your state.

Can you use IRS Free File?

About 70% of taxpayers qualify for a free federal tax return via the IRS Free File program. If you have an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $79,000 or less, you don’t need to pay a penny. You can find IRS Free File though several tax preparation companies, including:

  • TaxSlayer
  • TaxAct
  • FreeTaxUSA
  • 1040Now
  • FileYourTaxes.com
  • ezTaxReturn.com

You check out the full list of IRS Free File partner firms to see if you might benefit.

If you’re up to the challenge of doing almost everything yourself, without software guidance and automatic calculations, you can use Free File fillable forms instead.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Based on our analysis, we think the best software for tax preparation is Cash App Taxes.

The answer to this question is highly-debated as it’s hard to prove. Many tax softwares give a “maximum refund guarantee.”

Blueprint is an independent publisher and comparison service, not an investment advisor. The information provided is for educational purposes only and we encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding specific financial decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Blueprint has an advertiser disclosure policy. The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Blueprint editorial staff alone. Blueprint adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.

Jenn Jones

BLUEPRINT

Jenn Jones is the deputy editor for banking at USA TODAY Blueprint. She brings years of writing and analytical skills to bear, as she was previously a senior writer at LendingTree, a finance manager at World Car dealerships and an editor at Standard & Poor’s Capital IQ. Her work has been featured on MSN, F&I Magazine and Automotive News. She holds a B.S. in commerce from the University of Virginia.

Taylor Tepper

BLUEPRINT

Taylor Tepper is lead editor for banking at USA Today Blueprint and is an award-winning journalist and former senior staff writer at Forbes Advisor, Wirecutter/New York Times and Money magazine. His work has also appeared in Fortune, Time, Bloomberg, Newsweek and NPR. He lives in Dripping Springs, TX with his wife and 3 kids and welcomes bbq tips.