TurboTax is one of the most trusted tax prep software available. It\u2019s priced based on how much assistance you need and how complicated your taxes are. They have a Do-It-Yourself plan, a Live Assistance plan (that lets you ask a tax pro questions), and a Live Full Support plan where a tax expert will do your taxes for you and file on your behalf.\u00a0<\/p>\n
How much you\u2019ll pay for each plan depends on how complicated your taxes are. They also have a full suite of guarantees, such as an accuracy guarantee and a maximum refund guarantee.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Every return comes with audit assistance, which lets you ask questions if you get audited, but the tax expert will not represent you to the IRS. You can add on full audit assistance for an additional fee.<\/p>\n TurboTax is one of the more expensive tax software available, but for good reason. It is the gold standard when it comes to online tax prep and has all the features you could need in an easy-to-use package.\u00a0They also lowered their prices again this year, so it\u2019s actually getting more affordable. <\/p>\n The TurboTax versions available are based on how much assistance you\u2019ll receive. The Do It Yourself version doesn\u2019t come with any tax assistance, Live Assisted allows you to ask a tax expert tax questions, and Full Service lets you hand off the entire task to a tax pro who will file it on your behalf.<\/p>\n How much you\u2019ll pay for each version depends on how complicated your taxes are. You can start for free and upgrade as needed; you\u2019ll only pay when you actually file your taxes.<\/p>\n Note:<\/strong> Did you know that if you rented your home out for 14 or fewer days, you can exclude that rental income from your tax return because of the Augusta Rule<\/a>. If you would otherwise have a very simple tax situation, except for rental income of 14 or fewer days, you could still use the free editions. <\/p>\n Best for:<\/strong> Simple tax returns<\/p>\n Audit assistance included: <\/strong>Informational only | Accuracy guarantee: <\/strong>Yes | Maximum return guarantee:<\/strong> Yes<\/p>\n \u2795 Includes one state File for free with TurboTax Free Edition. ~37% of taxpayers qualify and it includes Form 1040 + limited credits only. File for free with TurboTax Free Edition. For simple tax returns only. Not all taxpayers qualify.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n TurboTax Free Edition is technically part of the Do It Yourself version, but it\u2019s good to break it out of the list so we can discuss it in full.\u00a0<\/p>\n Simple tax returns can qualify for free services. This includes:<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to note that the free plan includes your federal return and one free state.\u00a0Additional states are $39 each.<\/p>\n This plan doesn\u2019t come with any tax assistance. <\/p>\n Best For: <\/strong>Returns with simple or moderate complexity<\/p>\n Audit assistance included: <\/strong>Informational only | Accuracy guarantee: <\/strong>Yes | Maximum return guarantee:<\/strong> Yes<\/p>\n \u2795 Includes all tax returns Simple returns:<\/strong> $0 for federal and one state<\/p>\n Other returns:<\/strong> up to $89 for federal and $39 per state<\/p>\n Visit Site<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The Do It Yourself plan does not come with any live tax assistance. There is tech support if you have questions about the software, but you will not have access to a tax pro.\u00a0<\/p>\n Simple returns: <\/strong>This plan may be free if you have a simple return. For example, only having W-2 income and taking the standard deduction.\u00a0<\/p>\n Moderate or complex returns:<\/strong> If you have a more complicated return, such as being a freelancer or wanting to itemize, you\u2019ll pay up to $89 for your federal return and $39 for each state you need to file in.\u00a0It may be less, depending on your specific return. <\/p>\n Best For: <\/strong>Speaking with a tax expert<\/p>\n Audit assistance included: <\/strong>Informational only | Accuracy guarantee: <\/strong>Yes | Maximum return guarantee:<\/strong> Yes<\/p>\n \u2795Gives you unlimited access to a tax pro Pricing:<\/strong> Between $49 and $169 for federal and $39 to $49 per state<\/p>\n Visit Site<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The Live Assisted version gives you access to a tax professional who can answer tax questions specific to your situation.\u00a0Tax experts are available starting in January until April 15th, 7 days a week, from 5 AM to 9 PM, Pacific time. <\/p>\n As you file, if you find you have a questions, you can click the \u201cLive Help\u201d button to be connected to a tax expert. You can connect with them via phone, chat, or one-way video call (you can see them, but they can\u2019t see you.) If you choose video call, you can share your screen, and the agent can ensure you input the information correctly. <\/p>\n Depending on the complexity of your taxes, you\u2019ll pay between $49 and $169 for your federal return and between $39 and $49 for each state return. <\/p>\n Best For: <\/strong>Having your taxes done for you<\/p>\n Audit assistance included: <\/strong>Informational only | Accuracy guarantee: <\/strong>Yes | Maximum return guarantee:<\/strong> Yes<\/p>\n \u2795 You don\u2019t have to do your own taxes Pricing:<\/strong> Starts at $89 for federal and $49 for state<\/p>\n Visit Site<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n With this version, you will simply hand your taxes over to a tax expert, and they will file your return for you. This plan starts at $89 for federal returns for the simplest of returns and goes up from there, depending on the complexity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n You will be matched with a dedicated tax pro, and they will share their specific hours with you. You can reach them via phone call or one-way video chat. If you need help outside those hours, other experts are available 7 days a week from 5 AM to 9 PM Pacific time. <\/p>\n You can work with the same expert year after year if you want, assuming they are still with TurboTax next year. <\/p>\n If you have a business, you may be interested in Turbo Tax for your business taxes. Turbo Tax covers S-corps, LLCs, partnerships, and sole proprietors. <\/p>\n Pricing starts at $489 for Live Assisted and $1,169 for Live Full Service. You\u2019ll also get year-round support, which means you can connect with a tax pro any time you have tax questions, even if it\u2019s not tax time. <\/p>\n You\u2019ll also get Audit Defense included, which means a tax pro will assist you if your return is audited, including representation with the IRS. <\/p>\n Informational audit support is included in every individual plan, and Live Assisted Business and Full Service Business. In other words, you get audit support unless you did a business return without assistance.\u00a0<\/p>\n The included audit support allows you to call TurboTax and speak to a tax professional who will answer questions about any letters you received or the audit process.\u00a0 They will not write letters or speak to the IRS on your behalf.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you want full audit defense, you\u2019ll have to upgrade. The price is not disclosed, but Turbo Tax uses the company \u201cTax Audit\u201d to provide the audit defense and you can get a personal plan for $49.99 directly from them. Last year it was $39.99 through Turbo Tax. So I\u2019d expect the price to be between $40 and $50. <\/p>\n If your return is audited, they will handle every aspect of your audit for you \u2013 including representing you with the IRS \u2013 at no additional cost. Think of it like audit insurance.\u00a0<\/p>\n TurboTax\u2019s calculations are guaranteed accurate. If you are charged a penalty or interest due to a calculation error (ie, you put in the right information but the software made a mistake) TurboTax will pay the penalties and interest.\u00a0<\/p>\n They will not pay the extra taxes that you legitimately owe.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you file your individual return with TurboTax and then redo your taxes with another company and get a bigger return (or smaller tax liability), you can get a refund of the fees you paid to TurboTax.\u00a0<\/p>\n This does not apply to business taxes.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you can\u2019t wait for your refund to show up you can get a refund advance up to $4,000, for free.\u00a0<\/p>\n It won\u2019t cost you any fees or interest, but you do have to open a checking account with Credit Karma Money. Your advance will be deposited into the Credit Karma Money checking account within a few minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Anyone who qualifies for the free version of TurboTax should go ahead.<\/p>\n Also, if you are nervous about doing your taxes yourself, TurboTax is a great place to begin filing because you can upgrade to tax assistance, and if you still want more help, you can upgrade again to the full-service plan. TurboTax is the only tax software that has all three options.\u00a0<\/p>\n Most tax software will allow you to add on the ability to speak to a tax expert and ask questions, but few have the option to just hand them over completely and have the expert file on your behalf.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you are confident in your ability to do your own taxes, you may not need all the support that TurboTax offers. If this is the case, you are paying for features you probably don\u2019t need, and you would be just fine using a less expensive service.\u00a0<\/p>\n Also, if you have very complicated business taxes, you might be better off having your taxes done by an accountant and skipping tax software altogether.\u00a0<\/p>\n TurboTax will walk you through the process of doing your taxes by asking simple, plain English, questions that will guide the software to understand what forms and information you\u2019ll need to submit.\u00a0<\/p>\n For example, it will ask you if you have dependents. If you say yes, you\u2019ll be guided to enter their information. If you say no, the software will skip all things related to dependents.\u00a0<\/p>\n If it asks for information that you need to track down, or haven\u2019t received yet, you can skip the question and come back to it later. It\u2019s very easy to navigate around to different sections and add in forms and documents as they come in.\u00a0<\/p>\n TurboTax does have downloadable software if you don\u2019t want to file online. It is a bit more expensive if you are only doing one return, but the real benefit is that you can file multiple federal returns with the download version.\u00a0<\/p>\n For example, the basic version is $40, but you can e-file five federal returns and state returns are $20 each. So, if you are doing taxes for several people, this could save some money.\u00a0<\/p>\n TurboTax isn\u2019t the only place to get your taxes done.\u00a0<\/p>\n H&R Block is a strong competitor to TurboTax. They\u2019ve been doing taxes since 1955, and you probably have a local office near you.\u00a0<\/p>\n The main difference is that with H&R Block, you don\u2019t have the option to ask questions to a tax pro on any plan. Tax questions are answered by an AI chatbot, and if you want to speak to a human, you have to upgrade all the way to a full-service plan, where they file on your behalf.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, the free version of their online software is more comprehensive than TurboTax\u2019s version. For example, it includes unemployment income. So, if you don\u2019t qualify for the free version of TurboTax, check out H&R Block.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s our full review of H&R Block<\/a>.<\/p>\n Visit H&R Block<\/a><\/p>\n TaxSlayer\u2019s free version is fairly comprehensive and includes one state return, but you have to have under $100,000 in taxable income to qualify.<\/p>\n However, the next level up, the Classic plan, is reasonably priced and covers almost all individual tax situations. If you want to add on tax assistance, you\u2019ll need to upgrade to the Premium plan, but it\u2019s only an additional $20, which is not a bad price for tax assistance.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here\u2019s our full review of TaxSlayer<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Visit TaxSlayer<\/a><\/p>\n FreeTaxUSA includes just about every tax situation in its free plan. It doesn\u2019t include a state, but the state returns are only $14.99. You can add on tax assistance for $39.99 and full audit defense for $19.99.<\/p>\nTable of Contents<\/summary>\n
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How Much Does TurboTax Cost<\/h2>\n
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<\/figure>\nTurboTax for Free Edition<\/h2>\n
\u2795 Easy to use
\u2796 Not everyone will qualify<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
Do It Yourself<\/h2>\n
\u2796 Doesn\u2019t include any tax assistance<\/p>\n<\/div>\nLive Assisted<\/h2>\n
\u2795Can share your screen with the tax expert
\u2796Expensive<\/p>\n<\/div>\nLive Full Service<\/h2>\n
\u2796Pricing is not transparent<\/p>\n<\/div>\nBusiness Taxes<\/h2>\n
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<\/figure>\nAudit Support<\/h2>\n
Accuracy Guarantee<\/h2>\n
Maximum Refund Guarantee<\/h2>\n
Free Refund Advance<\/h2>\n
Who Should use TurboTax<\/h2>\n
Who Shouldn\u2019t use TurboTax<\/h2>\n
How TurboTax Works\u00a0<\/h2>\n
TurboTax Download<\/h2>\n
TurboTax Alternatives<\/h2>\n
H&R Block<\/h3>\n
TaxSlayer<\/h3>\n
FreeTaxUSA<\/h3>\n