FreeTaxUSA: Our Independent Review
FreeTaxUSA is an exclusively online tax preparation and filing service, owned by TaxHawk, that’s been in business since 2001. Self-preparation covers nearly all tax situations. State returns and advanced tax help cost extra. Pricing for upgrades is clearly listed and generally lower than similar services offered by competitors.
Business Insider’s personal finance team compared FreeTaxUSA to the best tax software and found it to be a standard offering.
FreeTaxUSA Pros and Cons
Pros
- $0 federal filing for nearly all tax situations
- State returns are less expensive than many competitors
Cons
- Import/upload capabilities are limited
- Some tax situations aren’t supported, including foreign-earned income and customers living outside the U.S.
- Access to a tax specialist requires a paid upgrade
File Taxes with FreeTaxUSA
FreeTax USA
Fees
$0 and $14.99 per state
- Don’t qualify for free federal returns elsewhere
- Value affordability over convenience
- Don’t mind extended wait times for customer support
- Qualify for free federal and state tax returns elsewhere
- Appreciate time-saving features like document upload
- Want personalized advice from an expert
- Have foreign earned income, are a nonresident alien, or live outside the US
Insider’s Take
Able to prep and file your federal return for free, and add on a state return for a low price.
Product Details
- Clean and modern interface
- Upgrade to priority customer support for $6.99
- Easy prior-year return import, but no document upload
Compare Tax Filing Companies
Who is FreeTaxUSA Best For?
FreeTaxUSA is best for people looking for a cost-effective and simple way to do their federal taxes. You’ll be able to prep and file your federal tax return at no cost and add on a state return for a low price. Plus, help from a tax specialist is available for those willing to pay a little extra.
FreeTaxUSA Details
- $0 DIY federal filing, state returns cost extra
- Optional expert support for a fee
- File amended returns or past-year returns for an additional fee
Federal Tax Filing
On FreeTaxUSA’s homepage, one thing might confuse you. It looks like FreeTaxUSA offers four plans: basic, advanced, premium, and self-employed. That isn’t the case. The website is just showing that you’ll still file your federal returns for $0, regardless of your tax situation. It’s mimicking the types of offerings other tax-prep services typically promote.
Are you a homeowner? Federal returns are $0. Are you self-employed? Federal returns are $0. Do you have rental income? Well, you get the picture. There’s only one platform that meets the needs of almost every filer. There are only a few situations FreeTaxUSA doesn’t support, including foreign earned income, nonresident alien returns, and filers living outside the U.S.
State Tax Filing
FreeTaxUSA says it makes its money off of state returns and other add-on services. The platform earns bonus points for providing various state tax resources, including a list of state filing deadlines and state-specific FAQs pages.
Import and Export Capabilities
FreeTaxUSA now supports PDF uploads for W-2s to pre-fill your income information. Imports for 1099s are not yet supported, however, so data entry may be tedious for filers with significant investment transactions or multiple income sources.
Prior-year returns can also be imported directly from other tax services, including H&R Block, TurboTax, TaxAct, and TaxSlayer.
Accuracy and Error-Checking
FreeTaxUSA offers an industry-standard accuracy guarantee. If a calculation error attributed to the company’s software is identified and results in IRS or state penalties and/or interest, you’ll get reimbursed.
The FreeTaxUSA software also performs a final check of your return for mistakes or missing information before submitting it to the IRS.
If you get an IRS or state audit notice, FreeTaxUSA’s enrolled agents and CPAs can help coach you through it for a one-time fee of $19.99.
How Much Does FreeTaxUSA Cost?
Federal Filing Edition
All federal returns are $0 with FreeTaxUSA, no matter the complexity of your tax situation. You also get no-cost help from customer service agents through email and an in-app support center.
There are only a few tax situations that are not supported by FreeTaxUSA:
- Foreign employment income
- Nonresident alien returns
- Customers or preparers living outside the U.S. when they file
- At-risk limitations
- Casualty or theft gain or loss for business and income-producing property
Deluxe Edition
If you need to lean on a tax pro, you can pay for the Deluxe customer support option that includes front-of-the-line privileges for live chat with tax specialists, and unlimited amended returns.
Pro Support
The highest level of add-on support you can get from FreeTaxUSA includes personalized advice from a tax specialist by phone, live screen share, or live chat.
State Filing Fees
FreeTaxUSA charges $14.99 to prepare a state tax return. This is less than many competitors, although some tax services offer complimentary state returns when customers qualify for $0 federal filing.
How Does FreeTaxUSA Work?
User Interface and Design
Don’t expect to be too impressed by FreeTaxUSA’s interface — it’s bare-bones and text-heavy — though that doesn’t reflect its competency.
Step-by-Step Guidance
The prep process is similar to what you’ll find in other software. You answer a few questions and move through all the relevant tax forms where you can manually input your income and see if you qualify for certain deductions or tax credits. There are explainers of tax concepts along the way, and the software will perform the calculations. Eventually, you’ll see your estimated tax refund or tax bill.
As with other top tax software providers, you can save your progress with FreeTaxUSA and come back later to pick up where you left off.
Security and Privacy
Data Encryption and Security Measures
FreeTaxUSA uses industry-standard data encryption practices to safeguard your personal information, including the data you provide when preparing your return.
You must set up two-factor authentication on your accounts for an added layer of security. You can also set up optional account alerts to be notified whenever certain changes are made within your account, such as password or email updates.
Privacy Policy
FreeTaxUSA uses standard practices to collect and store tax data during the tax preparation process. It retains user data for up to eight years from October 31 of the year in which the federal return is due. It does not sell the data to third parties. Review the company’s full privacy policy here.
Customer Support
Users who choose not to upgrade for tax specialist help can still ask tax questions through email or the FreeTaxUSA message center and receive responses within 30 minutes, the company says. There’s also a community forum where registered users can get their questions answered by FreeTaxUSA tax pros and fellow filers.
FreeTaxUSA Alternatives
TurboTax
TurboTax
Fees
$0 for Free Edition (~37% of filers qualify. Form 1040 and no schedules except for Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Student Loan Interest), $39 to $69 for Deluxe, $89 to $129 for Premium
- Can be good for relatively complex tax situations that may require help navigating deductions and forms
- Offers step-by-step guidance
- Ability to upgrade for instant access to an expert
- Not all users will qualify for a $0 filing option
- Most expensive option for many tax situations
- No brick-and-mortar locations to meet with a tax pro
Product Details
- Tell TurboTax about your life and it will guide you step by step. Jumpstart your taxes with last year’s info.
- Snap a photo of your W-2 or 1099-NEC and TurboTax will put your info in the right places.
- CompleteCheck™ scans your return so you can be confident it’s 100% accurate.
- You won’t pay for TurboTax until it’s time to file and you’re fully satisfied.
- TurboTax is committed to getting you your maximum refund, guaranteed.
TurboTax has a full-service filing option in addition to self-preparation plans, while FreeTaxUSA is entirely self-paced. TurboTax has multiple features that give it an edge over FreeTaxUSA, like document import and upload capabilities and QuickBooks integration for business owners. But for situations that require a paid package at TurboTax, costs can add up.
H&R Block
H&R Block Tax Software
- Seamless data entry when you upload tax documents (PDF or photo of paper document)
- Interface is modern and easy to navigate
- Instructions are clear and helpful
- Company doesn’t try to upsell you while preparing a return
- Ability to save your spot and return later
- Offices in all 50 states where tax professionals can prepare your return in person or virtually
- Cost
- $0 option does not include itemized deductions
- $0 plan does not offer on-demand chat or phone support
Product Details
- File your own taxes
- Step-by-step guidance
- Add expert tax help any time
- Real time results
H&R Block has a wider range of offerings for tax filing, including full-service options. For online filing, H&R Block users get access to a tax specialist with the purchase of any self-preparation plan (costs range from $35 to $85), while FreeTaxUSA charges $39.99 for unlimited phone support. When it comes to ease of use, filers may save time using H&R Block over FreeTaxUSA, which doesn’t yet support 1099 document uploads.
TaxSlayer
TaxSlayer
Fees
up to $52.95 for federal tax return and an additional $39.95 for state tax return
- Strong option for self-employed filers
- Low price — comparable self-employed packages at H&R Block and TurboTax are more than 2x the cost
- All packages include phone and email support
- Self-employed package includes on-demand access to a tax professional
- Simple and clean interface
- Ability to set up reminders to pay estimated quarterly taxes throughout the year
- Filers with any type of tax situation who meet AGI limits can use the IRS Free File program to file a federal return, and maybe a state return, with TaxSlayer at no cost
- Free version advertised on its website does not include earned income tax credit or child tax credit
- Interface isn’t as intuitive as H&R Block or TurboTax
Product Details
- Choose direct deposit for your refund and e-file your return to get your fastest refund possible.
- Everyone gets free, unlimited phone and email support. And if you need more help, we have you covered from Ask a Tax Pro to Audit Defense.
- Download free app for tax filing, resources, news, and tips at your fingertips.
- Guaranteed maximum refund
- 100% accuracy guaranteed
- Zero out-of-pocket fees
FreeTaxUSA will probably be the better choice if you have a complicated tax situation and low cost is your priority. All federal returns are $0 with FreeTaxUSA, while TaxSlayer charges for more complicated returns.
Read our TaxSlayer review
FreeTaxUSA Customer Experience
More than 544,000 customer reviews published on the FreeTaxUSA website indicate an overall positive customer experience, describing it as fast, affordable, and easy. FreeTaxUSA is not widely reviewed on public platforms, such as Trustpilot or Consumer Affairs.
Is FreeTaxUSA Trustworthy?
FreeTaxUSA is an IRS authorized e-file provider, which lets users electronically — and securely — file their returns. There are no public complaints from the Federal Trade Commission against FreeTaxUSA.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Rated FreeTaxUSA
We evaluated multiple aspects of FreeTaxUSA’s online tax preparation software and compared it with similar offerings from eight competitors. We placed an emphasis on cost, value, and user experience to determine which products offer a standout experience and/or benefit a particular type of filer. Access to tax experts was also considered, as was the company’s overall trustworthiness.
FAQs
Federal tax returns are $0 with FreeTaxUSA. State returns cost $14.99. You also have the option to pay $7.99 for enhanced customer support or $39.99 for personalized tax advice.
For $7.99, the Deluxe edition of FreeTaxUSA allows you to chat with tax specialists ahead of users with the basic support package.
FreeTaxUSA has an industry-standard accuracy guarantee policy. If the program makes a calculation error that results in IRS or state penalties and/or interest, FreeTaxUSA will reimburse the fees.
Yes, FreeTaxUSA is a legitimate tax-filing option. It’s IRS-authorized for e-filing, and has no public complaints against it from the Federal Trade Commission.
FreeTaxUSA’s closest competitor in terms of cost is Cash App Taxes, which offers tax prep for both state and federal returns. But with Cash App Taxes, there’s no way to get a customer service agent, let alone a tax specialist, on the phone, which you can do at FreeTaxUSA (and others, like TaxSlayer and TaxAct).
