Supply: The School Investor
FreeTaxUSA is likely one of the finest tax software program choices to file your tax return.
Are you a cut price hunter wanting to save cash whereas submitting taxes? If that’s the case, FreeTaxUSA options one of many lowest-cost DIY tax software program merchandise out there immediately. It provides free federal tax submitting and low-cost state submitting, irrespective of how advanced your submitting state of affairs is.
FreeTaxUSA is not the best tax submitting app to make use of. Nonetheless, it might be a sensible choice for the typical tax filer trying to get one of the best deal on their tax return. Because of the handbook type entry course of, it’s not our favourite selection for energetic merchants or these with many 1099 types. Nevertheless, for typical households with a W-2 or two, checking account curiosity, and passive investments, it’s one in every of our prime picks for the 2025 tax season (for tax yr 2024).
Right here’s a better take a look at an important options and disadvantages of FreeTaxUSA, up to date for the 2025 tax submitting season, that will help you resolve.
See how FreeTaxUSA compares to one of the best tax submitting apps for 2025 and the way this tax prep possibility ranks in our FreeTaxUSA evaluate beneath.
- Federal submitting is at all times free, no matter your tax state of affairs
- State tax preparation prices $14.99 per state
- Improve to precedence assist and limitless amended returns for $7.99 or get assist from a tax professional for an additional $39.99
FreeTaxUSA – Is It Actually Free?
Whereas “free” is within the identify, FreeTaxUSA isn’t truly free for many customers. The corporate provides free federal tax submitting for all filers. You are completed there in the event you reside in one of many seven states and not using a state tax return requirement. All different filers pay $14.99 to file their state returns.
The corporate provides three non-obligatory upgrades. The improve packages supply precedence assist and limitless amended returns for $7.99 or private tax assist from knowledgeable for $39.99. You’ll be able to improve to get audit protection for $19.99.
Whereas it isn’t free for anybody needing a state tax return, FreeTaxUSA provides a superb cut price and one of many most cost-effective tax submitting packages round. For those who don’t qualify free of charge or low-cost tax returns elsewhere resulting from investments or self-employment revenue, you could find important financial savings with FreeTaxUSA. Out-of-state landlords, facet hustlers, and self-employed enterprise house owners could all respect FreeTaxUSA’s low value and value.
International employment revenue, nonresident alien tax returns, filers at the moment residing exterior of the US, and high-value donations of property value greater than $5,000 are a number of the few un-supported tax conditions.
We additionally don’t counsel it for energetic inventory or crypto merchants. For these wants, we suggest the better expertise from TurboTax or H&R Block, regardless of the upper value.
Observe: FreeTaxUSA is an IRS Free File supplier, however the software program and limitations are completely different in the event you use the IRS web site versus instantly at FreeTaxUSA. And in the event you begin on IRS Free File, you can not swap again to the total model of FreeTaxUSA.
What’s New In 2025?
As with different tax software program, FreeTaxUSA is up to date for 2025 (2024 tax returns) for brand new tax legal guidelines and modifications. Following the prompts and appropriately getting into your data ought to yield the identical outcomes as with every different tax software program.
The choice for assist from a tax professional was refreshed final yr, with a brand new $39.99 tier to get cellphone assist and personalised tax recommendation. Audit protection was included final yr, however now requires a separate $19.99 price.
In a significant improve final yr, FreeTaxUSA added import assist in your W-2 from a PDF, although 1099s usually are not but supported for auto-filling. If PDF uploads for 1099 types have been added, FreeTaxUSA can be a best choice for a lot of extra tax conditions.
In 2025, anticipate to see the next modifications associated to:
- Tax brackets
- Credit score and deduction limits
- Expanded 1099-Okay necessities for on-line sellers
- Tax code updates
You’ll be able to pay much less to go it alone, however these needing fundamental assist with tax help or amended returns can improve to Deluxe for $7.99. Assist from a tax professional with cellphone and display screen share assist prices $39.99.
In recent times, FreeTaxUSA improved its navigation, bringing it nearer to the industry-leading experiences from higher-cost TurboTax and H&R Block. It nonetheless isn’t as user-friendly as TurboTax, however contemplating the price, it’s nonetheless fairly good.
Does FreeTaxUSA On-line Make Tax Submitting Simple In 2025?
FreeTaxUSA provides a number of the lowest pricing of all tax software program choices. It’s a superb worth for what it provides, beating many different opponents with low cost tax preparation software program pricing.
It’s not as straightforward to make use of as TurboTax or H&R Block. These premium software program packages boast imports and integrations that may dramatically ease the monotonous elements of tax submitting. Nevertheless, FreeTaxUSA’s notable options, resembling question-and-answer steering and useful part summaries, make the software program comparatively straightforward to make use of. The software program’s error dealing with can be very useful in making certain you don’t miss something necessary.
Though customers could spend extra time manually typing data into the software program, FreeTaxUSA is an excellent different to the most costly DIY tax choices.
Notable Options
FreeTaxUSA isn’t premium-priced software program, however it has useful options that make it a strong contender. Listed below are a couple of of essentially the most notable options you’ll discover with FreeTaxUSA.
Q&A Plus Menu Steerage
FreeTaxUSA Navigation. Screenshot by The School Investor.
Low-Value And Easy Pricing
Professional Help packs a ton of worth in for the value, particularly in comparison with different tax-filing software program choices.
FreeTaxUSA Pricing Choices In 2025. Screenshot by The School Investor.
Part Summaries
FreeTaxUSA shows part summaries as customers undergo the submitting expertise. These summaries present you all revenue, deductions, and credit concurrently. A easy look may help customers acknowledge that they could have missed a bit or made a significant error.
Audit Help Out there
Audit assist isn’t included in FreeTaxUSA’s base worth. Audit help is a standalone buy, which prices $19.99. It is a moderately whole lot in the event you’re involved in regards to the IRS coming again with questions on your tax return.
Drawbacks
FreeTaxUSA packs lots of worth for a low worth, however it has a number of drawbacks in comparison with top-priced opponents. Listed below are a couple of software program shortcomings you must know when searching for one of the best low-cost tax software program.
Restricted Tax Kind and Information Imports
Customers can import W-2 types, however different PDFs and spreadsheets, resembling 1099 types, usually are not supported. Customers should sort data from their tax paperwork into the software program.
That is fast and straightforward in the event you solely have a W-2 and a financial savings account, however these with energetic funding accounts could doubtlessly spend lots of time typing in commerce knowledge.
State Submitting Is not Free
A number of firms embody free state submitting for W-2 workers with easy tax wants of their free tiers. State taxes value $14.99 with FreeTaxUSA, even on its Free Version. This isn’t an enormous worth in comparison with $50 or extra per state with some others. However it’s greater than $0, which is disappointing contemplating it has “free” within the identify.
FreeTaxUSA Costs And Plans
The FreeTaxUSA strategy to submitting is simple. Federal submitting is at all times free, and state submitting prices $14.99 per state. Customers who need entry to a tax professional for questions and audit assist pay additional, however you’ll by no means pay additional based mostly on the complexity of your submitting state of affairs. Including audit assist prices $19.99 on prime of the packages beneath.
FreeTaxUSA additionally has a couple of of non-obligatory providers they cost for.
- Pay With Your Tax Refund: $24.99 (we do not suggest anybody pay with their tax refund)
- Professionally Printed Tax Return: $7.97 (consists of delivery)
- Printed and Certain Tax Return: $15.97
- Prior 12 months Return: $17.99 per state
- Present 12 months Amended Return: $15.98
- Prior 12 months Amended Return: $17.97
How Does FreeTaxUSA Examine?
FreeTaxUSA is likely one of the hottest low-cost tax software program firms, so our comparisons give attention to different common software program choices in the identical (or shut) pricing class. TurboTax and H&R Block are costlier than FreeTaxUSA however supply higher performance.
All of those applications have a free tier. We expect FreeTaxUSA tends to be higher for self-employed individuals, landlords, and individuals who lived or labored in a number of states who’re skilled in submitting their taxes and wish to get monetary savings on their return.
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Unemployment Earnings (1099-G) |
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Dependent Care Deductions |
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Retirement Earnings (SS, Pension, and so forth.) |
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Small Enterprise Proprietor (over $5k in bills) |
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$0 Fed & |
$0 Fed & |
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$7.99 Fed |
$29.99 Fed & |
$22.95 Fed |
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$39.99 Fed $14.99 per State |
$49.99 Fed & $39.99 Per State |
$42.95 Fed |
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$69.99 Fed & $39.99 Per State |
$52.95 Fed |
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Contact
FreeTaxUSA clients can entry fundamental buyer assist by logging into their accounts and sending an electronic mail. The corporate says that they usually reply to questions inside half an hour. You can too ship an electronic mail to [email protected].
With the Deluxe Version, you get “Dwell Chat with Precedence Help.” You get to leap to the entrance of the queue to speak instantly with a tax specialist at this stage. Chat assist is offered Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Japanese (ET).
With Professional Help, you’ll be able to attain a human tax skilled by cellphone, and display screen sharing is offered.
Is It Protected And Safe?
FreeTaxUSA has not suffered from any important safety breaches. It operates with industry-standard safety and encryption. Multi-factor authentication is required to log in and entry your tax knowledge. School Investor crew analysis didn’t reveal any historic safety breaches. Customers ought to belief FreeTaxUSA when submitting their taxes.
Nevertheless, even customers who belief FreeTaxUSA ought to know that their knowledge is at some stage of threat. Hackers may goal FreeTaxUSA, and a knowledge breach may expose private data. It’s additionally important to observe on-line safety finest practices, notably protecting a novel password for each web site, to maintain your data protected if one other web site you utilize is compromised.
Why Ought to You Belief Us?
The School Investor crew spent years reviewing the entire prime tax submitting choices, and our crew has private expertise with nearly all of tax software program instruments. I personally have been the lead tax software program reviewer since 2022, and have in contrast a lot of the main firms on {the marketplace}.
Our editor-in-chief Robert Farrington has been making an attempt and testing tax software program instruments since 2011 and has tried virtually each tax submitting product. Moreover, our crew has created opinions and video walk-throughs of the entire main tax preparation firms, which you could find on our YouTube channel.
We’re tax DIYers and need a whole lot, similar to you. We work laborious to supply knowledgeable and trustworthy opinions on each product we take a look at.
How Was This Product Examined?
In our authentic exams, we went by FreeTaxUSA and accomplished a real-life tax return that included W2 revenue, self-employment revenue, rental property revenue, and funding revenue. We tried to enter every bit of information and use each characteristic out there. We then in contrast the consequence to all the opposite merchandise we have examined and a tax return ready by a tax skilled.
This yr, we went again by and re-checked all of the options we initially examined and any new options. We additionally validated the pricing choices. You’ll be able to see our stroll by in our evaluate video.
Is It Price It?
FreeTaxUSA options an incredible mix of high quality and price. For those who don’t qualify free of charge tax submitting elsewhere, aside from Money App Taxes, FreeTaxUSA is probably going your lowest-cost possibility. It’s not preferrred for energetic inventory and crypto merchants, however different filers will possible discover the software program meets their wants.
The main downside to FreeTaxUSA is the dearth of 1099 import performance. We might love for FreeTaxUSA to import and pre-populating types. This may lower the slog of information entry and scale back potential handbook errors. Until added, customers should resolve if the low value is value the additional trouble of transcribing tax types and knowledge.
Frequent Questions
Listed below are some frequent questions on FreeTaxUSA:
Can FreeTaxUSA On-line assist me file my crypto investments?
FreeTaxUSA could also be adequate to file your returns in the event you solely traded a couple of tokens. You’ll must search for the US Greenback foundation of the commerce, however you’ll be able to key within the trades. Nevertheless, energetic crypto merchants will wish to look elsewhere. Typing in dozens of trades into FreeTaxUSA is unlikely to be a very good use of time.
Do I’ve to pay extra for a self-employed tier for my facet hustle?
No, FreeTaxUSA fees all customers the identical quantity, irrespective of the complexity of their submitting state of affairs. Federal submitting is at all times free, and state submitting prices $14.99 per state.
Does FreeTaxUSA supply refund advance loans?
FreeTaxUSA doesn’t supply refund advance loans for 2025.
Does FreeTaxUSA supply any offers on refunds?
No, FreeTaxUSA is not providing any offers or incentives related to refunds. However it’s already a reasonably whole lot for tax prep.
Is FreeTaxUSA respectable?
Sure, it is a common tax software program preparation firm that has been in enterprise since 2001.
Does the identical firm personal TaxHawk, FreeTaxUSA, and 1040Express?
Sure, FreeTaxUSA is a subsidiary of TaxHawk Inc. The guardian firm owns three software program manufacturers, TaxHawk, FreeTaxUSA, and 1040Express.
Is FreeTaxUSA higher than TurboTax?
It relies upon. FreeTaxUSA is usually decrease value than TurboTax, however TurboTax additionally provides free submitting choices. FreeTaxUSA is usually less expensive for an easier tax prep expertise, whereas TurboTax provides higher imports and a slicker interface for a premium worth.
Options
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Precedence Buyer Help |
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Sure, from TurboTax, H&R Block, or TaxAct (Free) |
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With Deluxe Version ($7.99) |
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Deduct Charitable Donations |
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Buyer Service Cellphone Quantity |
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