TaxSlayer Review 2023

TaxSlayer delivers a high-quality tax filing product, and 2023 is no exception. TaxSlayer’s technology platform and affordable prices make it a top choice, particularly for tax filers looking to save money compared to the biggest tax software providers in the industry.

TaxSlayer does a good job of balancing low costs with helpful features. While it falls short in easy-of-use compared to the top industry leaders, the much lower price makes up for the differences for many users.

Let's dive into our TaxSlayer review and see what makes TaxSlayer one of the best tax software choices of the 2023 tax season.

Review Walkthrough Video

TaxSlayer - Is It Really Free?

TaxSlayer has a pricing tier called Simply Free. This tier only works for those with simple filing needs. Only users with W-2 income and unemployment income are supported in this tier. However, both state and federal taxes are free in this tier, which isn’t the case with some competitors ‘free’ versions.

However, this tier is extremely restrictive. The Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit aren’t available for free tier users. Filers who have HSAs or qualify for Dependent Care Credits will also have to pay for an upgrade to TaxSlayer Classic to complete their return.

For Military Members: TaxSlayer has been consistently known to support military members. They offer a free Federal return for military members using TaxSlayer Classic - with all forms and tax situations included (state is additional). Learn more about TaxSlayer Military here >>

What's New In 2023?

Over the past several years, TaxSlayer has made strides to become a premium tax filing software without the premium price tag. TaxSlayer succeeds here, offering an overall excellent experience at a reasonable cost.

The service added guided navigation wizards and the option to directly type in your tax forms. Users who aren’t sure how to file their taxes will find the refined guidance intuitive and straightforward.

Over the past several years, TaxSlayer has been making strides to become a premium tax filing software (without the big sticker price). This year, TaxSlayer earns a premium experience label. The service now offers completely guided navigation options. Users who aren’t sure how to file their taxes will find the refined guidance easy to use.

In 2023, TaxSlayer was named Best Tax Software for Student Loan Borrowers, Best Tax Software for Landlords, and Best Tax Software for Small Business Owners in our annual Best Tax Software awards.

Does TaxSlayer Make Tax Filing Easy In 2023?

Overall, TaxSlayer simplifies tax filing for many people. It's an especially great software for landlords and self-employed people who need calculators to figure out their net income for tax purposes. TaxSlayer is designed to help people identify and properly claim overlooked expenses and deductions. Self-employed business owners, side hustlers, and landlords can benefit from the TaxSlayer approach.

The big drawback is that you can’t directly connect to your bank account or employer to download your tax information. Instead, you must type it in manually or download and upload files with transaction information where supported.

TaxSlayer Features

TaxSlayer provides premium tax filing software at discount prices. These are some of the notable advantages of using this robust software.

Guided Navigation

TaxSlayer added new guided navigation through every section of its software. The experience is fine-tuned and improved for 2023, including support for new tax situations and recent tax law changes. Navigation updates bring TaxSlayer closer to the experiences offered by higher-cost TurboTax, H&R Block, and TaxAct.

Specific Examples Of Legitimate Deductible Expenses

TaxSlayer includes “How this works” articles highlighting legitimate deductible expenses. These articles make it far easier for people to understand the deductions they can take. Combined with other premium options (like “Ask a Pro”), filers can confidently decide whether they can take a credit or deduction.

While most companies have “knowledge articles” built into their software, TaxSlayer is remarkable for the quality and applicability of these articles.

All Forms Supported At Classic Level

TaxSlayer Classic supports all major schedules and forms. That means filers with self-employment or rental income can use the Classic option. For premium software, this is a real bargain. Others charge around 5x as much for the same tax filing abilities.

Pro Support Included With Premium

TaxSlayer Premium includes unlimited one-on-one guidance from a tax professional. This support can happen over the phone or via live chat. The total cost for Premium, including that support, is less than you would pay for software alone at top competitors.

Audit Support

The Classic level of TaxSlayer includes IRS inquiry support for one year. TaxSlayer Premium includes IRS audit assistance from certified tax professionals for up to 3 years. Lastly, Self-Employed includes complete defense and legal representation from a tax pro in the case of an IRS audit for up to 3 years after the return is accepted. Again, this would be a pricey add-on with most competitors.

TaxSlayer Drawbacks

While TaxSlayer offers an excellent product, it has a few drawbacks that should be pointed out.

No Direct Financial Data Downloads

You can upload a CSV of your stock transactions, but other banking and investing data must be entered manually. While that’s easy enough with a savings account or two, active stock investors and cryptocurrency traders may find this extremely cumbersome. The ability to upload CSV files was added in 2022, and hopefully, a future update will allow direct downloads of bank and investment account tax data.

No PDF Uploads

While it’s not universally supported, some competitors offer the ability to upload a PDF file of your bank or investment 1099 forms, and the software will figure out which numbers go where. That’s not an option at TaxSlayer.

Simply Free Doesn’t Support Credits or Deductions

TaxSlayer has a free pricing tier, but it's only applicable to select filers. To qualify, you must:

• Have less than $100,000 of income
• No dependents
• Only wage or salary income
• Taxable interest up to $1,500
• Unemployment income.

This version doesn’t cover itemized deductions, credits, and other deductions.  For example, filers who want to claim the Child Tax Credit or the Earned Income Tax Credit must upgrade.

TaxSlayer Pricing And Plans

TaxSlayer has a unique pricing strategy. Its “Classic” pricing supports all schedules and forms but doesn’t include Audit Support or advice from tax professionals.

The higher-priced options allow users to upgrade for those options - including self-employed which provides help specifically for those with small businesses.

How Does TaxSlayer Compare?

TaxSlayer is an incredibly robust and easy-to-use software, but it doesn’t directly integrate with any brokerage accounts. Because it doesn’t have those integrations, we’re comparing it to some bargain software (FreeTaxUSA and CashAppTax) and high-end software (H&R Block and TurboTax).

This year, we recommended TaxSlayer as the best tax software for Side Hustlers and Self-Employed people.

Is It Safe And Secure?

TaxSlayer employs industry-standard security. Logging in requires multi-factor authentication, and servers encrypt all data. But the company’s security policies haven’t always been this good. In 2015, TaxSlayer had a data breach in which 8,800 customers had their data stolen. This breach resulted in enhancements to security, including the requirement to use multi-factor authentication.

Most users can trust TaxSlayer to be safe and secure. But as with all online products, there are still minor risks when using online products for your finances.

How Do I Contact TaxSlayer Support?

TaxSlayer has a variety of support options. The most robust support help comes for users on the Premium and Self-Employed tiers. However, any customer can use their support email form, live chat, or call their support phone number at 706-922-6741.

TaxSlayer has a solid customer service reputation online. The company is rated 4.3/5 on Trustpilot, with about 19,000 customer reviews. Complaints focus on issues caused by mistakes during filing, indicating confusion during the filing process for some users.

Where To Buy

Unlike other software providers like TurboTax or H&R Block, TaxSlayer doesn't offer a desktop version of its software. So the only way to buy TaxSlayer's cloud-based software is to visit its website or download its mobile app.

TaxSlayer offers an ideal blend of ease of use, quality, and cost. It’s the ideal tax software for self-employed business owners, side hustlers, and landlords who want a useful and intuitive interface and don’t want to spend an arm and a leg on their taxes.

Anyone with simple filing situations may find that Cash App Taxes or H&R Block Free make more sense. But TaxSlayer offers premium software at a bargain price for many others.

Get started with TaxSlayer for free and try it out >>

TaxSlayer FAQs

Here are some common questions we get about TaxSlayer every year.

Can TaxSlayer help me file my crypto investments?

Yes, users can upload a CSV of their crypto transactions this year. However, you can’t download crypto data directly from exchanges like Coinbase.

Can TaxSlayer help me with state filing in multiple states?

Yes, TaxSlayer supports multi-state filing. But filers must pay $39.95 per state.

Do I have to use the self-employed tier for my side hustle?

Technically, filers can use the Classic tier for self-employment and side hustling. Filers who want pro support from self-employment experts can upgrade to the most expensive Self-Employed tier.

Does TaxSlayer offer refund advance loans?

In 2023, TaxSlayer is not advertising refund advance loans. It does have a relationship with Green Dot Bank and allows unbanked people to receive their funds on a TaxSlayer debit card issued through Green Dot. But this option does not entitle people to receive funds any earlier than normal.

Does TaxSlayer offer any deals on refunds?

TaxSlayer offers a “file and go” option where fees are deducted from a filer’s refund. However, this comes with an additional cost.

Is TaxSlayer better than TurboTax?

It depends. We found TaxSlayer to be better for price and pretty good for usability. TurboTax does offer one of the easiest-to-use interfaces, though, and it can make tax filing faster and simpler. However, TurboTax requires a much higher cost.

What are the alternatives to TaxSlayer?

TaxSlayer Features