Reviews of 23 Tax Preparation Software Programs
H&R Block At Home
3 stars. H&R Block At Home is functional tax preparation software. At Home offers a clean interface consisting of questions and answers along with input sheets. An H&R Block employee will attend an audit with you if your return gets audited under H&R Block's Worry Free Audit Support. H&R Block At Home lacks planning features found in other software programs.Version tested: Premium.
Cost: $74.99 Federal + $39.99 State.
Time: about an hour and a half.More »
H&R Block Free File Edition
3 stars. H&R Block's At Home Free File Edition is very functional, no frills Web-based tax software. The software features sophisticated error checking and is backed by H&R Block's "worry free audit support." It is cumbersome to go back and change one's answers if one happens to pick the wrong answer, and help content is limited.Free for federal use: adjusted gross income of $58,000 or less and age 52 or younger.
State returns cost $14.99, or free for residents of AR, AZ, DE, GA, IA, ID, IN, KY, MI, MN, MO, MS, ND, NC, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, VA, VT, WV, or DC.More »
Jackson Hewitt Online
3 stars. Jackson Hewitt Online is a suitable and average tax preparation program. Users can choose between an question-and-answer easy interview or navigate directly to a menu of input worksheets. When signing out, it was difficult to get back to where we left off in the process. Provides support through live chat, telephone and email. It is nearly identical to OnePriceTaxes.Version tested: Premium Edition.
Cost: $44.95 Federal + $29.95 State.
Time: about an hour and a half.More »
OnePriceTaxes
3 stars. OnePriceTaxes is an adequate tax preparation program. Users can choose between an question-and-answer easy interview or navigate directly to a menu of input worksheets. It is nearly identical to Jackson Hewitt Online. Support available through live chat and email. Can import data from Shoeboxed, Outright or Etsy.Version tested: Federal & State.
Cost: $29.95 Federal & State.
Time: about one hour.More »
Online Taxes (OLT) Free File Edition
2.5 stars. While OnLine Taxes is a fully functional tax preparation program, the biggest drawback is the lack of more contextual help to explain particular tax topics. The software can prepare extensions and amended returns.Free for federal use: adjusted gross income between $13,000 and $58,000.
State returns are free.More »
Tax Simple Free File Edition
3 stars. Tax Simple deserves praise for building tax software with the ability to switch back and forth between an interview-style and a forms-style interface. Due to its lack of content in the help section, Tax Simple is probably best suited for people who are willing to look up tax information on their own.Free for federal use: adjusted gross income of $58,000 or less, are age 62 or younger, and reside in any state except for AK, FL, NH, NV, SD, TN, TX, WA, and WY.
State returns cost $24.95.More »
TaxACT Free File Edition
3.5 stars. TaxACT's colorful and friendly interface and strong help functions makes the software highly useful. TaxACT gets high marks for including a withholding calculator, FAFSA worksheets, and guidance on the new health insurance mandate.Free for federal use: adjusted gross income of $52,000 or less and are between the ages of 18 and 57.
State returns cost $14.99. Free state returns available for residents of AR, AZ, DC, GA, IA, ID, IN, KY, MI, MN, MO, MS, ND, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, VT, and WV.More »
TaxACT
4 stars. TaxACT is one of the best consumer tax preparation programs with the most features. While it does take some time to go through the program's question-and-answer interface, TaxACT provides multiple ways to access helpful content, and provides utilities for importing data, analyzing the tax return, and checking for errors. TaxACT earns high marks for including features to plan out next year's taxes through its withholding calculator and the ability to build what-if scenarios to test out tax strategies for future years.Version tested: Ultimate Bundle.
Cost: $24.99 (web-based), $21.99 (download), $28.99 (download for up to 5 federal e-files).
Time: about two hours.More »
TaxBrain
3 stars. Preparing a tax return using TaxBrain is quick and efficient due to its plain data-entry style worksheets. Unlike other software programs, the user doesn't need to click through a series of questions and answers just to get to a particular data screen. TaxBrain does not offer any utilities for planning out next year's taxes. Overall, TaxBrain is a quick, fully functional software, and is probably best suited for people who want to dig into all the data entry with a minimum of clicking.Version tested: 1040 Premium.
Cost: $69.95 Federal + $29.95 State.
Time: just over one hour.More »
TaxSlayer Free File Edition
3.5 stars. TaxSlayer earns high marks for offering users multiple ways to navigate the software, its simple and uncluttered design, and explanations of tax topics. Available in English or Spanish.Free for federal use: adjusted gross income of $30,000 or less.
State returns cost $25.More »
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