Cash App Taxes Review 2023 (Formerly Credit Karma Tax)

If you want to do your taxes completely for free, Cash App Taxes (formerly Credit Karma Tax) is the only service offering truly free federal and state filing to all users. While it doesn’t have all of the bells and whistles of the premium-priced TurboTax, it handles the most common situations, including investments and taxes for your business or side hustle.

While the rebranded platform has undergone some changes, it continues to provide high-quality options for most filers. Our Cash App Taxes review breaks down everything you need to know about doing your taxes with this no-cost platform.

If you want to see how Cash App Taxes compares to other DIY tax prep options, check out our top tax software picks for 2023.

Video Review and Walkthrough

Check out the video below and see how to login, as well as how it looks once you get started:

Cash App Taxes - Is It Really Free?

Yes, Cash App Taxes is 100% free and doesn't have any paid tiers. If Cash App Taxes supports your needs, which it does for most people, you won’t have to enter a credit card number or pay for any upsells.

A few people, such as those who worked in multiple states or earned foreign income, may not qualify to use Cash App Taxes. Users get free access to the software in exchange for downloading the Cash App and creating a Cash App account.

Cash App, formerly known as Square Cash, offers peer-to-peer money transfers similar to PayPal and Venmo. Block, Inc., the company behind the Square ecosystem of payment, payroll, and business products, owns the Cash App and Cash App Taxes.

What’s New In 2023?

After changing from Credit Karma Tax to Cash App Taxes, the software is mostly the same as in past years. However, the move from Credit Karma to Cash App Taxes came with a few feature downgrades which have yet to be replaced.

As of 2023, the Cash App Taxes does not support importing investment data. However, due to excellent pricing and other quality features, we named Cash App Taxes to our Best Free Tax Software list.

We named Cash App Taxes Best Free Tax Software, Best for Side Hustlers, and Best Value Tax Software. You can find the full rankings of the Best Tax Software here.

Filers will need to enter all information from their bank and brokerage forms manually. We were also surprised that the product didn’t catch errors like over-contributions to self-employed 401(k) plans. This error may have been picked up at the end of the software, but this is typically flagged earlier.

However, Cash App made some nice improvements to the tax filing flow. It requires users to answer a quick questionnaire to make the tax filing situation more personalized. The various income and expense factors are added to the screen to make tax filing more efficient.

Does Cash App Taxes Make Tax Filing Easy In 2023?

Cash App Taxes makes tax filing relatively easy for most users. It only supports some W2 imports, but it has decent calculators and a good user interface. Cash App Taxes is a top choice if you mostly have information from employment or self-employment, bank interest, or a business (including a side hustle).

However, active traders (crypto or stocks) must manually enter each trade, which is a tedious, error-prone process. It also doesn’t support those who live in two states, work across state lines, or have to file in two states for any other reason.

Additionally, we found one issue associated with over-contributions to self-employed 401(k) plans. That said, these limitations won’t apply to most users. Cash App Taxes is an excellent tax software for most common situations.

Cash App Taxes Features

Cash App Taxes offers free tax filing for most people, but the software is more robust than its price tag implies. These are a few of the product’s best features.

Customized Filing Experience

Filers complete a short questionnaire at the start of the filing process. This streamlines the filing process, so users don’t have to open or review the information that isn’t relevant to them.

Completely Free Federal And State Filing

With many tax software companies, the free tier is incredibly limited, so most taxpayers are forced to upgrade to a paid tier. Not so with Cash App Taxes. It offers all of its features for free. Users only need to download the Cash App to access the robust software.

Required Multi-Factor Authentication

Cash App Taxes takes security very seriously. It requires users to use multi-factor authentication. A physical second form of authentication is a best practice that few other companies offer (much less required).

Free Audit Support

Cash App Taxes provides free Audit Support (through a third party) for anyone who files using Cash App Taxes. The support includes organizing tax documents, writing to the IRS, and attending hearings associated with the audit.

Cash App Taxes Drawbacks

Cash App Taxes is suitable for the typical tax filing scenario but has a few drawbacks, especially for those seeking premium features.

Limited Form Imports

Cash App Taxes only supports limited W2 imports (assuming your company or their payroll provider support it).

They don't allow users to import 1099 forms from banks and brokerages. This may be a dealbreaker, especially for crypto or stock traders who don’t want to enter every transaction manually.

Possible To Skip Or Overlook Certain Sections

Cash App Taxes' new navigation relies on customized menu navigation. A short questionnaire simplifies the software, so users aren’t overwhelmed by irrelevant selections. However, users must manually click into each section to enter their information. Users may accidentally skip certain sections if they don’t realize it applies to them.

Cash App Taxes Pricing Plans

Cash App Taxes offers free Federal and State filing. Users don’t have to pay for anything, including free Audit Defense.

How Does Cash App Taxes Compare?

Cash App Taxes is a surprisingly robust software, especially when it's compared to bargain and mid-tier software. Here's a quick look at how it compares to FreeTax USA, TaxAct, and TaxSlayer.

How Do You Log In To Cash App Taxes?

Thankfully, Cash App Taxes significantly improved access to its product this year. Last year, users were required to login via their phone, scan a QR code, and then move back to their computer. It was challenging.

This year, however, users can simply file their taxes from their phone or computer at cash.app/taxes. Simple!

How Do I Contact Cash App Taxes Support?

When using completely free tax software, you'll typically need to be willing to make a few compromises. In the case of Cash App Taxes, one of those compromises is limited support options.

Cash App does have a new dedicated Help Center for Cash App Taxes. But unlike premium tax software companies, you won't have the option to upgrade to tiers that include access to tax pros. 

Is It Safe And Secure?

Using any tax software involves certain risks, but Cash App takes security more seriously than most tax companies. It leverages its experience as a banking/brokerage company to protect user information.

Is Cash App Taxes Worth It?

Cash App Taxes offers a free product that is more robust than most paid products on the market today. It doesn’t rival premium services (like TurboTax, H&R Block, and TaxSlayer), but it's serviceable for most filers who don’t actively trade stocks or crypto. Given the ease of use, we’re recommending Cash App Taxes as a top free tax filing option for this year.

Get started with Cash App Taxes here >>

Cash App Taxes FAQs

Let's answer a few of the most common questions people ask about Cash App Taxes.

Can Cash App Taxes help me file my crypto investments?

If you traded one or two tokens, you might want to use Cash App Taxes to file your taxes. Figuring out the cost basis on these trades won’t be too difficult. However, active traders must manually enter dozens or hundreds of transactions. This is too time-consuming to be worthwhile. Active traders should consider TaxAct or TurboTax Premier to reduce the time spent filing.

Can Cash App Taxes help me with state filing in multiple states?

No. Cash App Taxes can help you file your Federal taxes, but it does not support multi-state filing. Tax filers who filed in multiple states should consider an alternative software like Free Tax USA.

Do I have to pay if I have a side hustle?

Cash App Taxes is free for all users, including self-employed business owners and side hustlers.

Does Cash App Taxes offer refund advance loans?

Cash App Taxes doesn’t offer refund advance loans, but filers can get their returns six days earlier if they deposit to a Cash App account. This is an FDIC-insured account.

Does Cash App Taxes offer any deals on refunds?

Cash App Taxes doesn’t offer any deals or incentives associated with refunds.

Cash App Taxes Features