There are so many different options when it comes to tax software, and it can be very confusing to figure out which is best. What makes it even more confusing is that many of the companies "hide" the real cost of their software.
You see, most companies are simply advertising the "Federal Return" price, and not other costs, such as State filing, and e-Filing fees that may be included. On the other hand, other companies include everything in just one price.
Even when you see "Free Federal", it doesn't really mean free - you'll likely be paying something to file your taxes. We break down who is really offering free tax software here.
We compared the prices of all versions of TurboTax, H&R Block, and Tax Act for the 2019-2020 tax season to really help you understand what you're getting. This article isn't about the features, so much as the price (we bucketed the programs in the closest features per version).
If you don't know what tax software is right for you, check out our guide to the Best Tax Software which breaks down our picks based on your tax situation.
To make matters even more complicated, there are different prices for the online and download editions of every product. My head hurts just thinking about it.
There are three big changes for the 2019-2020 tax season:
- H&R Block continues to be one of the best price to value ratios on the market. We especially like that they expanded their Free Online Tax Filing option to include some itemized deductions, and they made their free edition truly free. This could help a lot of people who itemize. Read our full H&R Block Review.
- TaxAct increased their prices and tiers again this year, while not really brining in a lot of value to justify the price increases. Read our full TaxAct review here.
- TurboTax Free Edition is still one of the easiest to use options, but they are the highest priced software this year, and their free level isn't as good as H&R Block. Read our full TurboTax review here.
Another big change this year is that all of these companies are offering some type of paid "help" or assist from a tax professional. These add-ons are available on every tier, but both H&R Block and TurboTax price these additionally - so you can clearly see the costs. TaxAct offers support from a specialist, but only on their Premier and Self-Employed Tier.
** An important disclaimer is that these comparisons are based on full-priced offers. These offers tend to go up significantly in March and April. For example, TurboTax updated prices on March 1.
Along those lines, we also discovered the Amazon.com is offering great deals on TurboTax. This year they are offering an Amazon exclusive edition of TurboTax - check out the Amazon exclusive TurboTax here.
Amazon is offering a great deal on H&R Block, as well as a 4% refund bonus if yo get an Amazon gift card. Check out the H&R Block deal on Amazon here.
Comparing Online Free Editions
Let's take a look at the online free editions for each company and see how they compare.
| TurboTax Free | H&R Block Free | TaxAct Free |
|---|---|---|---|
Federal Return | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Federal eFile | $0 | $0 | $0 |
State Return | $0 | $0 | $0 |
State eFile | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Total Price | $0 | $0 | $0 |
|
I'm excited to see that all of the "big 3" tax companies are offering truly free "Free" editions this year. While this continues the trend of the prior years, each service does include a different amount of features in their free level.
H&R Block offers the most options in their free tier, including homeowners, people claiming childcare expenses, student loan interest deduction or charitable deductions and recipients of the earned income tax credit.
Given that all three companies offer Free filing, we recommend H&R Block 2020, as it's easy to use, but includes the most option for free filers.
Comparing Online Deluxe Editions
Next, let's look at the online "Deluxe" editions of each product. It's important to note that this is a really strange tier. I really hate this product because it typically is what gets people who think they qualify for free file, but actually have to pay for the service - usually because they have something like an HSA that makes them upgrade.
For example, you get half way through your return and learn you need to pay for a feature or tax deduction, this is the tier you usually end up at.
In many cases, H&R Block Free Online Tax Filing is a great choice for people who might fall into this tier because it's actually free.
Note: If you fall into this tier and have a basic tax return, you might check out Credit Karma Tax. It's 100% free, and does have some limitations, but people who fall into this category will usually find value at Credit Karma Tax.
| TurboTax Deluxe | H&R Block Deluxe | TaxAct Deluxe+ |
|---|---|---|---|
Federal Return | $60 | $29.99 | $29.95 |
Federal eFile | $0 | $0 | $0 |
State Return | $50 | $36.99 | $39.95 |
State eFile | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Total Price | $110 | $66.98 | $69.90 |
|
This year, with TaxAct's higher prices, H&R Block not only has the most features, but also has slightly better pricing as well.
Comparing Online Premium Editions
This is where the versions really matter. Make sure you read what different options are offered. This tier is many geared towards homeowners, investors, and some side hustlers.
It's important to note that H&R Block allows the Schedule C-EZ with their Premium version, which could be a good deal for some side hustlers (versus having to upgrade all the way to the Self-Employed version).
This is the tier that saw the biggest price increase this year. Every provider increased the price of this version significantly versus prior years.
| TurboTax Premier | H&R Block Premium | TaxAct Premier+ |
|---|---|---|---|
Federal Return | $90 | $49.99 | $39.95 |
Federal eFile | $0 | $0 | $0 |
State Return | $50 | $36.99 | $39.95 |
State eFile | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Total Price | $140 | $86.98 | $79.90 |
|
Once again, TaxAct is the lowest price offering. However, not by much this year. In fact, we still think you should consider the TaxAct Alternatives - or even go off this list and check out TaxSlayer at this tier. TaxSlayer offers every form for a great price.
Based on our experiences, we recommend H&R Block Premium for this tier as well, as the extra $7 is worth the experience.
Comparing Online Small Business Editions
Each of the three companies offer a small business edition of their software. This is important if you are filing a Schedule C for your tax return (which is for side hustlers as well).
TurboTax has historically been the leader in this space in terms of ease of use, integrations (with Quickbooks), and more, but they are the highest priced option.
If you're a side hustler, you're going to find a lot of value with H&R Block, and also with new-comer TaxSlayer.
| TurboTax Self Employed | H&R Block Self Employed | TaxAct Self Employed+ |
|---|---|---|---|
Federal Return | $120 | $79.99 | $74.95 |
Federal eFile | $0 | $0 | $0 |
State Return | $50 | $36.99 | $36.95 |
State eFile | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Total Price | $170 | $116.98 | $114.90 |
|
TaxAct was the lowest priced version last year by a huge margin ($30 or more). However, they significantly raised their prices on this tier, making them much less appealing.
However, a new player this year is TaxSlayer which you might consider for your self employed return. It's not listed here, but it's a strong player in this space. Check out our full TaxSlayer review here.
If you don't want to try something new, check out H&R Block Self Employed.
Comparing Download Editions of TurboTax, H&R Block, and TaxAct
Just when you thought things couldn't get more complicated, each company offers a downloadable version of their software. This is designed for people who want to do their taxes while NOT being online. This is a more expensive way to go, and the pricing is very different from the online versions for many of the companies.
Remember, you might have better luck on pricing shopping on Amazon.com - we already discussed how Amazon has an exclusive price on TurboTax this year.
This is also the same version of the software that you'll typically find in retail stores, if you buy the CD. As such, you may be able to find cheaper pricing online from retailers.
We don't recommend people use downloadable software. The online versions are safer and more up-to-date. But, we know there are some old school people out there still!
Comparing Downloadable Basic Editions
| TurboTax Basic | H&R Block Basic | TaxAct Basic |
|---|---|---|---|
Federal Return | $39.99 | $29.95 | $26.95 |
Federal eFile | $0 | $0 | $0 |
State Return | $39.99 | $39.95 | $49.95 |
State eFile | $19.99 | $19.95 | $9.99 |
Total Price | $99.97 | $89.85 | $86.89 |
|
TaxAct is still the low priced option for basic editions. However, I recommend that you avoid the basic editions, they are actually higher priced than other options. And if you need a basic edition, you might be better served by using one of the free tax software choices like Credit Karma Tax.
Comparing Downloadable Deluxe Editions
| TurboTax Deluxe | H&R Block Deluxe | TaxAct Deluxe |
|---|---|---|---|
Federal Return | $69.99 | $54.95 | $96.90 |
Federal eFile | $0 | $0 | $0 |
State Return | $0 | $0 | $0 |
State eFile | $19.99 | $19.95 | $9.99 |
Total Price | $89.98 | $74.90 | $106.89 |
|
I don't know if you noticed, but the Deluxe versions of TurboTax and H&R Block are actually cheaper than the basic versions. Talk about marketing gimmicks!
This year, H&R Block Deluxe takes the lead as the cheapest downloadable deluxe option. TaxAct significantly increased the price of their Deluxe version and we couldn't really find a reason for it.
Comparing Downloadable Premium Editions
| TurboTax Premier | H&R Block Premium | TaxAct Premier |
|---|---|---|---|
Federal Return | $99.99 | $74.95 | $101.90 |
Federal eFile | $0 | $0 | $0 |
State Return | $0 | $0 | $0 |
State eFile | $19.99 | $19.95 | $9.99 |
Total Price | $119.98 | $94.90 | $111.89 |
|
This year, H&R Block Premium takes the lead on download Premium Edition pricing as well.
Comparing Downloadable Small Business Editions
| TurboTax Self Home & Business | H&R Block Premium & Business | TaxAct Self-Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
Federal Return | $109.99 | $89.95 | $124.90 |
Federal eFile | $0 | $0 | $0 |
State Return | $0 | $0 | $0 |
State eFile | $19.99 | $19.95 | $9.99 |
Total Price | $129.98 | $109.90 | $134.89 |
|
H&R Block is the cheapest this year since TaxAct raised their prices by about $30 on this version. Check out H&R Block Premium & Business here.
Conclusion
After looking at the pricing of every edition from all three companies, it became clear that a trend emerged: H&R Block has become a value leader in the "major" tax products space. They've lowered their pricing on most products, and launched a robust free filing option.
If you're looking at the battle between TurboTax and H&R Block, H&R Block is our recommendation. If you want to buy software to download or buy software in the store, H&R Block is usually always the cheapest option.
Check out our full H&R Block review if you're curious about using it this year.
What are your thoughts on tax software pricing? Have you used any of these companies?
Robert Farrington is America’s Millennial Money Expert® and America’s Student Loan Debt Expert™, and the founder of The College Investor, a personal finance site dedicated to helping millennials escape student loan debt to start investing and building wealth for the future. You can learn more about him here and here.
He regularly writes about investing, student loan debt, and general personal finance topics geared towards anyone wanting to earn more, get out of debt, and start building wealth for the future.
He has been quoted in major publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, Fox, ABC, NBC, and more. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes.
Ron Polsley says
The Deluxe version is by far the most popular. After reading the reviews at Amazon and Costco I learned long time users, like myself, of TurboTax are jumping ship because TT Deluxe no longer supports small investors and businesses as it has in years past, without upgrading. Absent the Net I would have never known.
As a recovering cancer patient a word of advice, when searching the Web, DATES are of critical importance.
–Ron
Robert Farrington says
Yes, the change in TurboTax Deluxe this year not supporting Schedule D has caused some controversy. And H&R Block is taking advantage by offering TurboTax customers H&R Block software for free: https://plantingmoneyseeds.com/hr-block-offers-free-tax-prep-software-turbotax-users/
Brad Smith says
Over the years I have used all three products with price being the driving force. I have used both online and download versions. I have found no discernible difference in any of the products. They all do pretty much the same thing. However, I have used Tax Act for the past 7 + years and have been very pleased with them. Tax Act doesn’t market as much which shows when you go with H&R Block or Turbo Tax a lot of what you are paying for is their marketing costs.
John McCulloch says
I switched away from TaxAct because I needed Investments and their price for such was far, far higher than H&R. Perhaps because they ONLY sell a product with a State filing and my residence does NOT have any state income taxes!
That said, I like TaxAct’s progression and Q&A much better than either H&R or Turbo.
Currently H&R Deluxe is available [not state] for $25, with state at $35. BOTH are ‘retail’ copies, including CD.
TaxAct is $44, download only and it’s a waste is you don’t need a State! I will not do my taxes, on-line! Only when the program is installed on my computer. Too much chance of the information being either irretrievable or hacked !!!
Guess I’ll go H&R again for 2017’s taxes [2018 program].
Jason says
Thank you for your article. I just jumped ship from TurboTax to TaxAct in part because of it. I had never heard of TaxAct before but TurboTax pissed me off because they kept raising the price every year so I went to the web to find a cheaper alternative. Whereas TurboTax was going to charge me $80 as a military member for the premier version, TaxAct is allowing me to file for free using TaxAct Premium because of my military affiliation. Thanks again.
dan says
as a long time taxact user i am really shocked how much their prices went up this year (for the 2016 tax year). plus they used to email preseason discounted prices which they didn’t do this year.
Roy says
Last year my price was $13.99 for Taxact to file State, Federal and e-file them. Now it will be $40 or $55. That is a 200-300 percent increase in one year! I think that the word “DRASTIC, or HUGE” would have been used to describe the Tax act increase. I have been using Taxact for years and this price increase is unacceptable to me, however those of you who were using the other two Companies, would probably think I should not complain. If you now switch to Taxact, you missed al the good prices. If Taxact has not changed their software like they did the prices, it, to me has worked very well for me. I was in the military, but they did not offer me a thing except a 10% discount since I have been with them for a long time. I will call them back to ask about that too. Thanks for letting us know. Like me, you can call Taxact and spend 30 minutes to get 10% off your price. I would call as they NEED to know people are not happy with a 200 to 300% price increase!
Art says
I too have been using TaxAct since their first version. I have a MSWin PC that has been retained for only that software, as we are are a MAC house for the most part. TaxAct’s price increases this year are outrageous and in light of last year’s price increase approach gouging. This cannot be condoned. Given the very modest price differences between H&R Block and TaxAct, I am willing to pay the difference and try the Mac version of their software. If enough people dump them, maybe they’ll rethink.
M.B. says
I did my ex-wife’s taxes, and as she works in a state that has income tax, it was $22.48 last year to use TaxAct.
This year if I used them it would be over $60.
As a result I told her to order a copy of H&R Block from Amazon for $26 as I don’t support any company that triples their prices year on year for no reason other than greed.
Larry says
I have been using TaxAct for quite a few years, primarily due to their reasonable price to file a Federal and State state return. TaxAct’s enormous price increase for this year is unacceptable and in my opinion, price gouging.
I found FreeTaxUsa.com which charges $0 for the Federal return and $12.95 to add a State return. FreeTaxUsa will import previous year’s data from TaxAct, TurboTax or H&R. It supports numerous tax forms and appears to do everything TaxAct does. I am going to try them.
Stach says
Is there any chance you will review FreeTaxUSA.com and/or CreditKarma.com Tax as well? Those 2 look very promising…
Robert Farrington says
We have reviewed both. We like FreeTaxUSA: https://www.thecollegeinvestor.com/18729/freetaxusa-review-2016/
Credit Karma Tax is free (which is awesome), but users are reporting a lot of bugs and slow customer support response times. Read about it here: https://www.thecollegeinvestor.com/18920/credit-karma-tax-software-review/
WILLIAM says
do they efile?
Robert Farrington says
Yes, they all eFile.
Steve Moseley says
I switched to TaxAct for my 2014 return after having used TurboTax for years. I was really annoyed at Intuit’s sneaky but widely reported “repositioning” of versions. They later backtracked and apologized, but it was a basically dishonest move, so I went with TaxAct. I paid $21.89 for the 2014 returns, and $18.62 for the 2015 returns, and was very happy with the programs. Not so many attempts to pick my pocket like TurboTax although there was a bit of a learning curve. But this year the price for the equivalent program is $40, over twice what I paid last year! I’ll wait and see if there is a sale, but it looks like I may be giving the IRS free fillable forms a try this year.
Robert Farrington says
If you don’t have a business or rental property, we’ve found Credit Karma tax to be a excellent free option: https://www.thecollegeinvestor.com/18920/credit-karma-tax-software-review/
Mitch says
Similar to most on here, I paid ~22.00 for TaxAct Plus two years ago and this past year it went up to 44.00 (not including the State filing fee of 10.00). I just finished this years taxes and decided to look at the early price for the same program next year and it is $62.00!! This is Ridiculous! Of course next year (2018 taxes), who knows what the tax code will be like after the Trump changes go into effect.
Mike says
The current price (1/28/17) for TaxAct Plus is $25 for Fed + $35 for state for a total of $60!! I’ve used this program and for the last 8 or 9 years and never paid more than $20 for both (I remember $13.95 for signing on early). I also told many people I know about how good it’s price/performance was and they also switched to it.
No more for me!! The new pricing is an outrageous increase. They were obviously making money with their old business model, so I do feel like I’m being gouged. Did someone new buy the company? Maybe the company that makes EpiPens?
Adios TaxAct!!
Dennis says
I agree! I’m doing the same.
YC says
To be accurate, since I am just doing it just now and got shocked when I saw the pricing in the end of filing….
How would you like to pay your TaxAct product fee of $70.00? (Review your TaxAct fees)
TaxAct Online Plus and State Edition
Your Federal Return fee is $33.00 and State Return fee is $37.00.
I didn’t expect this….this is not even as the price they advertised…
I am trying other websites now.
Kevin says
Why do you ignore TaxSlayer? I use them and get to file with itemized deductions, investments, even a K-1, and I only pay $17 for federal and $22 for state, which is the actual cheapest option.
Robert Farrington says
We definitely don’t ignore them, but we have a love/hate relationship with them. Read our full review here: https://www.thecollegeinvestor.com/18736/taxslayer-review-2016/
Physician on FIRE says
Thank you for the thorough breakdown, Robert. With multiple options from several companies, you’ve made it simple to sort out.
Cheers!
-PoF
Robert Farrington says
Glad to help!
Tania says
I have been using TaxAct for years now. As others have remarked, this year, TaxAct Plus went up to $40.
Well, I just got an email from them, and TaxAct Plus went up to $60. I logged in, and yes, they actually want $60 for it.
I will find something else, simply based on principle. That is true price gouging.
Peppe says
Like Tania, I’ve used TaxAct for 3 years and was a happy customer.
Although the original post says that TaxAct Plus is $40 (15+25), the price on their website is actually $60 (27+33).
@Robert: you may want to update the post.
I’m going back to the TurboTax Deluxe CD for $40. I’ll e-file my Federal and print+mail my State.
Inconvenient, but I no longer want to do business with Taxact. I’m sure their revenue is going up dramatically this year, but their NPS must be getting very close to -100.
Robert Farrington says
I just checked as of 2/5, and TaxAct Plus is still $40.
Nydia Rivera-Rivera says
As of today, 2/12/2017, if you download it, The price is $60. The online version is $27.
Christine H says
Their site does indeed have the Plus edition listed at $27. It has the Premium listed at $37. It’s $33 for each state, for either edition. So $60 for the Plus edition.
For me as someone who needs to file the Schedule C, this adds to $70… about double what I paid last year to file online as a self-employed business owner. And the price for 2015 was double what I paid in 2014. I don’t love this curve.
So though I’ve used TaxAct for also a decade now, I’m desperately seeking another, cheaper, option. I don’t make a heck of a lot in my work, and even less last year as I had a break-up, move, and major injury in 2016. The TaxAct price increase is just the last kick in the gut.
Robert Farrington says
AS I mentioned in another comment, TaxAct seems to be split-testing their pricing. Multiple readers have shown screen-shots of different prices. So weird this late in the tax season.
Kim says
I’ve been using TaxAct since 2009 and like other posters here, I am simply appalled at the ridiculous price hike for the 2016 package. I paid a total of $18.99 last year for the Premium package plus the additional New York state package, and now they are charging $70.00 for Premium alone! It is totally price gouging, and I’ll be delighted to see the company go down in flames. I’m dumping TaxAct and am thankful I found this post, since you are suggesting alternatives that will allow me to import all that work from TaxAct.
GenX Jeff says
Just filed with taxact, plus version. Was $13.99 total for federal + state in 2015, but was $35.50 total for 2016 ($10.50 fed + $25 state). I did lock in an early rate via email but was still surprised at the price after entering all of my information for this year (info that was not imported, that is – I’ve been using taxact forever). I did leave feedback through their site after filing. Thank you for all of the reviews and information on this site. I felt a little better about the gouge after seeing the competitor prices, and after seeing that they offer a military discount.
John says
Yes, they did send an email in Nov 2015 to lock in the discounted price for 2016. However, it did not say what the discounted price was, but only that it was 30% off. The confirmation only stated that you locked in the discounted price but again without any figures. No one expected the price increase for Fed+state would go up from $18 to $60, making the discounted price $40, which is still more than twice what I paid last year.
Bruce says
I agree, ridiculous price increases by TaxAct in 2017. In 2016 I paid $29.99 for the 2015 Federal Plus Edition with included a free State Edition. Now in 2017 they’re charging $29.95 Federal AND an additional $37 for State! It might be time to go back to TurboTax.
Melissa Volker says
The taxact prices are wrong. The Plus is now $60 for fed and state…and it goes up from there. That’s up a lot from last year. We used to use it faithfully, but are looking at switching now.
Robert Farrington says
In an odd approach, they are split testing their prices (we’ve had multiple readers showcase different prices). Screenshot attached:
Steve says
They want 37+37 now just for plus from me. I used them last year but I will pass on their shady pricing this year – I hope it costs them a lot of business.
TonyP says
Also onboard with saying goodbye to TaxAct. Paid $30 for the deluxe version last year which included 5 e-files and one state…this year it is $60. I bought an extra state last year for $14.99 and this year it is $33!!!
Emailed them my displeasure and they emailed back with their reasoning, standard stuff, and offered me a 20% discount on my purchase.
Doubt I will take them up on it as a more than double price increase does not sit well with me.
Kana laymon says
So I am an artist and I sell my work and have a small home based business and also live in a state where we pay state taxes. I would like to know which service you reccomend. My husband gets a w-2. I have used TurboTax for small businesses for years, but feel like they try to hide things. When doing my taxes I really have to hunt or go back and go back to make sure I did not miss anything that could save me. Looking for a cheaper but also easier to work with system.
Alex says
Another reason one might choose downloadable version is if you’re doing multiple returns (for a parent for example). Download includes multiple returns in the price. Online is one only.
Roger says
Not happy with tax act. been using it over 10 years. I need the $60 dollar version for something I can’t do in a cheaper version, BUT In washington state, we don’t file state, so they are charging me for something i don’t need.
Roger says
Does anyone know if Turbotax, or HR Block can convert my saved taxact file??
Scott says
Taxact’s massive price increase this year has just cost them yet another long-time customer. Not sure who at Taxact is pulling the shots, but they may want to give them the boot before they completely destroy the company.
Stephen says
Pretty solid review. I may have to give my own taxes a try next year again. Used to do them when they were simple but now with the income properties and everything else I don’t mind paying a bit for a professional to ensure they’re done properly.
CKM says
2017 for 2016 Taxes.
Turbo Tax went off the rails…
I am a long time (12+ years) user of Turbo Tax Premier. I liked it and used it because of the ability to fill out a 1099 MISC for gas well royalties. None of the other Turbo Tax offers have this form available, however Turbo Tax has raised the price almost ever year.
Back then both federal and state together were included and the price was around the 55.00.
Last year it cost me 105.00 – and this year – if I used them it would cost me 120.00 $.
What irritates the worst;
I am retired living frugally on pennies and SS (which hasn’t gotten an increase in two years) – yet everything else (cost of living) is still rising.
Anyway, I’m jumping ship.
Screw – Turbo Tax!!!
Anyone suggest which software would would have the 1099 MISC schedule E for filing royalties off gas wells?
The rest of my return is simple, just a house, a few acres of land, couple of vehicles, and a pontoon boat, (which are ALL paid for – no loans.)
Thank you,
Josh says
I have used TaxAct for quite a few years. I Always used the free version w/ Itemized deductions. Just used the online version (Taxact Online Plus) to file. On the TaxAct web page the price they listed was $37+$38 for federal and state. I do need to file state, so I figured $37. I logged onto my old TaxAct account and offered the upgrade to “PLUS” for $15. Total cost was $16 something with sales tax. Weird.
rick king says
Bye, Taxact. You’ve never been that great. I should know, I’ve purchased your Federal+State downloadable products for 15 years.
Tania says
I recently found out that you can file for FREE on irs.gov, so I did. The site does a LOT to confirm your identity at the end (like ask you for a number from last year’s tax return). There is no interview, so you have to know what you’re doing; it does a little bit of the math for you. You can save and go back later. At the end, they can set up electronic payment (whether they owe you or you owe them); they even have you fill in the W-2 electronically, so you don’t even have to mail in the paper form. I’m not saying it’s for everyone, but it does support a fair number of extra forms. They explain a lot of it up front, so you can decide whether it is for you or not.
Out of curiosity, I went to TaxAct.com to see prices, and here is what they are for now (screen shot wouldn’t paste…):
Free: $0 Federal + $0 State.
– Optional prior year import $10
– For simple 1040EZ and 1040A filers
Plus: $37 + $38 State
– Prior year import included
– For itemizers, homeowners, and investors
Premium: $47 + $38 State
– Prior year import included
– For self-employed, freelancers, and contractors
Richie Gam says
TaxAct has ROYALLY ticked me off. Used them since 2009 (when TurboTax pulled a price-gouging trick).
I paid a $5 increase (pre-order) over my 2015 program, and thought everything was OK – UNTIL I tried to PRINT my return – when the program tells me, sorry, you need a higher version to print your return! They want an extra $10! BS! If you sell me a program, AND let me enter all my data for the schedule (C), but really won’t let me print or file the return with that program – that’s beyond sneaky, it’s downright nasty.
When I called their customer line, after holding a bit, I got a really nasty woman on the line who said it was “my fault” for not buying the version I needed. She was downright confrontational and raising her voice, and I in turn raised mine – and then she told me that I was raising my voice and if I continued she would have to hang up on me. I said, well, then hang up on me B***CH and I hung up.
Sent a request online for a refund (which they gave me), and I’m moving over to HR Block’s program for this year. Had to re-enter everything, and the price is about the same (with discount on Block’s program via coupon codes readily available) – but I’ll be damned if I’m going to give those sneaky b***s*ards at TaxAct another dime.
susan says
There is a deal on slickdeals.net to link to taxact that lowers their federal file cost to $10. The interface isn’t as easy to use as turbotax, but in terms of value, taxact came out ahead.
Jack says
As prior user, Taxact tried to charge me $75 (federal filing only). Their charge on the website is a lot lower.
Then, I got TurboTax from Costco for $40. I am amazed how easy it is to switch from Taxact to TurboTax, because TurboTax automatically read my prior year information inside Taxact, and populate related fields.
Christopher Mead says
Another tax season is upon us. Again it looks like Turbo Tax 2017 is changing what each version does. I’ve used Turbotax Delux since 2007 and most recently 2016. I also state file. I was expecting to use it again but then I see that Delux no longer has a schedule C to deal with my wife’s very small curtain business. I also always do my taxes on the MAC – preferring not to do them on line. So it looks like I need to go with Premier at $125 which is about double from last year’s Delux. Is this true or am i mis-interpreting the website?
Robert Farrington says
We thought TurboTax dropped Schedule C support from their offering in 2016 – but the desktop version might have been slightly different than online.
It’s still funky how they divide it up. If you can do a Schedule C EZ, we believe you can still use Deluxe or Premier. However, if you need the full schedule C because your business has over $5,000 in expenses, or if you are planning to take certain expenses like the home office expense, you need to use the Self Employed version.
Our recommendation for small business owners this year is to consider TaxSlayer or TaxHawk. Both of them are more “manual” than TurboTax or H&R Block, but they are significantly cheaper for small business.
Finally, I’d strongly advise you do them online. One, you’ll save money. Two, you’ll have “cloud” back-up if your computer crashes. Three, it’s honestly probably more secure than your desktop if you create a strong password and enable two-factor authentication if possible.
Richard DeCowsky says
I have used TaxAct since before they sold out to Turbo Tax. I always paid an extra $5.00 for a cd for my file. Now for my 2017 taxes with TacAct not providing the cd option, and the steeply increased pricing, I am leaving TaxAct in the dust of the past.
Richard DeCowsky
Bill says
Why do H&R Block and others charge so much for state e-filing? Is there some extra effort or expense on their part or it is just an excuse for them to stick their hands in your pockets when you are so close to being done?
Robert Farrington says
While it does cost them more to develop specialized software for each state, and efiling also does cost them, they are definitely making a profit on their pricing.
Craig Long says
I have also used TT before and left them for Taxact in 2011. I have been happy with them but am upset that they are not responsive to loyalty. I paid $ 30.00 total last yr. for both and always “locked in” the price at the end of my filing. Looks like they “unlocked” me this year because I just started my new filing and when I got tho the state +$37.00 I politely logged out. I will be looking at other options as well. Thanks for the Heads up on these changes.
Chris says
Sounds like a lot of us are in the same boat, but solving it in different ways. I’ve used TaxAct for quite a few years because the online deluxe version with state and e-file was very inexpensive when you took advantage of the early registration deal. I kept looking for that deal and never was offered one this year. As a result, what cost something like $20 last year was to cost somewhere over $60 this year, which triggered the inevitable sticker shock. After some research and finding out that my participation in an HSA made me ineligible for free H&R Block, I learned that I could just order the retail TurboTax Deluxe from the Amazon Exclusive deal for $40. That’s about the cheapest I’ll be able to get away with, apart from the poorly reviewed CreditKarma. I had never heard of FreeTaxUSA until just now, so I guess I’ll look at it for next year. I’m overall not happy that my tax filing has gone from around $20 or less to at least $40 in just a year’s time. I’ve made sure to leave a nasty note on TaxAct’s Facebook page as well as respond negatively to the advertising e-mails they’re sending (hint: Click “UNSUBSCRIBE” and then explain in detail why when asked…)
Frankly, their software is decent but it’s still not of the same quality level as the competition they’re now barely trailing on price. It leaves me no reason to even consider them.
Peter says
Capital One Bank is offering to credit card customers free Premium H&R Block filing for 2017 as long as Capital One can access your tax information for marketing purposes.
I am using this and I have found the H&R Block website to have some bugs, which I have managed to work around.
1. Importing 1099-R forms from PDF caused my online session to malfunction, so that I could not complete my return and I had to sign up again with a new id and start over.
2. Importing 1099-div forms from Vanguard caused the social security number to be filled in with XXXXX9999. The online site said that was invalid but would not let me correct it, so I had to delete the forms and key them in manually. At least I did not have to start the process again for this error.
CANDY SOLOWITZ says
WHAT IS THE LEAST EXPENSIVE PRODUCT FOR TWO FEDERAL RETURNS, ONE STATE RETURN, SCHEDULE D, FREE E FILE?
Robert Farrington says
TurboTax is our recommendation for investors (your schedule D), but it’s not free. The best free file companies can be found here: https://www.thecollegeinvestor.com/21156/the-best-tax-software/
You’re really looking for a mixed bag of solutions, so make sure you understand what you need, not just the cheapest.
Cookie Rojas says
Neither HR Block nor TurboTax free version supports itemizers with Schedule A.
Robert Farrington says
None on the major companies offer itemizing for free this year with Trump’s Tax Reforms. The reason is it is estimated anywhere from 80-90% of people will be claiming the new, higher standard deduction.
Kari says
Sounds like you are pushing H&R pretty hard here. Can you verify that you were not sponsored by H&R in any way to write this post?
Robert Farrington says
We’re affiliates for every tax company on this page (and it’s fully disclosed on on the link at the top and directly here: https://thecollegeinvestor.com/how-we-make-money/) and almost every tax company in general. So we get a small commission regardless of which product you sign up for.
But to your specific question, no, this article isn’t sponsored by H&R Block or any tax company. We don’t do any sponsored reviews (and we’ve reviewed just about every major tax software company). We do offer sponsored content, but that’s also disclosed – you may see some of it when you browse the site.
You may also find this guide helpful in making your decision: The Best Tax Software For Your Filing Situation.
At the end of the day, which software you choose is based on your tax situation, your level of experience and knowledge, and what features you may be looking for.
jabari says
“We don’t recommend people use downloadable software. The online versions are safer and more up-to-date.”
Safer? Really? How do you figure that?
Sending less private data over the wires (i.e., downloading the software) seems to be far safer than sending more data (i.e., every single piece you put in on a webpage creating multiple transmits).
That price difference seems ridiculous though. The TaxAct Premier online is like $18, while the download is nearly $100. I’ve never, ever done an online version before, always had a local copy of the software to keep everything.
Robert Farrington says
Much safer – statistically.
The odds are much more like that you’ll suffer data loss on your own computer versus a major tax provider losing your data.
At your personal computer, you could have a hard drive fail, data be corrupted, power surge, computer virus, hacking, etc. When you leverage online software, these companies have full teams dedicated to preventing all these things. You simply don’t have that. You run a much higher risk. TurboTax and the like could get hacked, but the risk is so much less than you as an individual. And the general risk of data loss is minimal.
And as a reminder – all of your information is already out there. You might find this to be a good read: https://thecollegeinvestor.com/20167/identity-stolen/
Finally “over the wires” is the safest part of the whole thing – your data is encrypted when you are sending it, just make sure that your browser has the little “lock” icon for SSL encryption.
Penny says
Most interesting article, RF.
I’ve been a TaxAct user for years, always buying the CD (now the downloadable version) plus one state and occasionally another state depending on where people have been living. I buy the downloadable version, even though it costs more, because there are generally at least three of us using the program for our returns, and sometimes four or five.
I’ve always been happy with TaxAct’s program, though FAR from happy with the recent price increases, like many other users. I guess we stick with them because we count the cost as a business expense on one of our Schedule Cs.
Also, there does seem to be a disconnect between what you pre-sign up for in advance, and what they try to bill you for when you’re ready to download the program. Last year I saved the e-mail and actually printed out my response to it, so was able to demonstrate that I had pre-signed for a lower price. I’m doing the same this year.
This year they’re offering a 30% savings on the 2019 year purchase just by changing the Auto-enroll slider on my 2018 year purchase {Self Employed Edition (Download) plus one state} from No to Yes. However, the site doesn’t say what charge the 30% is going to come off! (Last year’s charge for 2018 was $117.90.)
Agree with you on the safety, or lack of, for data kept on one’s home computer, or even on a separate hard drive. We’ve had some disasters, sigh.
Abby says
I’ve been a customer of TaxAct for years and years, and yes, their prices have gone up a lot, but being able to import all my data from previous years is priceless to me, especially since I wouldn’t be able to import them into TT if I chose to go with them. I have a complicated return including Form 1116, and self-employment, and help a son in another state with his taxes, so I’m continuing with TA and this year, thanks to reminders, I’m purchasing the program early and saving 30%, so it eases the burden a bit. Thank you for your helpful articles!
Suggestion: please order your comments/reviews with the latest first, I was discouraged at first by reading irrelevant comments dating back to 2015….
Amy says
Just tried to e-file with TaxAct online which I’ve done for years. When checking out, I found that my cost is $79.96 for self-employed (which was supposedly 30% off because I locked in price a few months ago) and $49.95 for the self-employed state!!! That’s an outrageous $126.91. Will definitely not be using them next year. Can’t raise prices that much in a year. And stealthily to boot. They didn’t tell me the cost until I tried to e-file at the end.
Patrick says
I’ve used Taxact for 10 years and watched the price go up. I’ve locked in the 30% discount the last few years but they make that a pain in the ass to locate on their site. I think in 2017 or 2018, I had to log into TA by using the link in the email. Which is nuts. I guess they’re assuming people will either forget or trash the email. Most companies show that discount when you go to pay. It’s not hidden or reliant on an email link. Emails to their support people went unanswered. They want $56 for the Fed form w/o the discount. Throw in 2 state returns at $45 each and that’s a bill of $155. I’ve used state filing services the last 2 years which cost nothing. Will try Free-Tax this year as I doubt TaxAct will repsond to my email
Doug says
My grandsons first year to file a tax return and a simple one at that. I’ve used Blocks program for several years so we started with that. Nearly through with the entry and we started a 1099-B for his $60 profit on Bitcoin and guess what Block wanted $69 to file the return now. Not going to happen. Makes me aggravated to enter all that info and then get smacked in the wallet.
We’re headed to Credit Karma now.