The Best Tax Software Programs to Make Filing Your Taxes Easy

The Best Tax Software Programs to Make Filing Your Taxes Easy Tax software can be a useful tool for managing your taxes. If you’re new to tax software or interested in finding an alternative to your current one, there are suitable options out that might be worth considering. After you read all of the information on each option, you’ll be better able to choose the software that best supports your needs. Here’s a list of some of the best tax software on the market today.

H&R Block Free If you just need a tax software to perform a basic tax return, H&R Block Free can help with performing that task. You can use it to put together tax returns with wages and income from a W-2, limited income from interest or dividends, claims the earned income tax credit or child tax credits, and claims the standard deduction. As the name indicates, the software is free. It lets you file the Form 1040 and also take some common tax breaks if you qualify for them.

Most taxpayers need to file schedules 1, 2, and 3, which you’ll be able to do on H&R Free. Additionally, you can report your business income, deductible student loan interest, alternative minimum tax, alimony, some retirement contributions, the Saver’s Credit, and the Lifetime Learning Credit. It should be noted that you won’t be able to calculate these with the free version of H&R Block. If you encounter any concepts that are unfamiliar with you, the program will explain them to you as you go along. A majority of the terms are hyperlinked with a tag titled “learn more” to give you click here.

If you decide you need the help of a professional as you’re working, you can pay for an on-demand chat over the phone or through screen-sharing sessions with a certified public accountant, tax expert, or an enrolled agent. Be aware that given it’s a free program, there are certain tasks you won’t be able to perform on it. These tasks include deductions and expenses from self-employed or freelance work, HAS distributions, or itemized deductions.

H&R Block Deluxe Sometimes your tax situation might require a little more than just basic software. It’s at this point you might consider upgrading to a paid software. With many different products that offer a variety of features, it may feel daunting to decide which one is best for your needs. For the purposes of seeking an entry-level paid software, H&R Block Deluxe could be your best bet. The Deluxe version of H&R Block allows you to itemize and claim many of the most popular tax deductions and tax credits. These deductions and credits include those for medical expenses and contributions to health savings, charitable donations, and mortgage interest, and property taxes.

In addition to this function, H&R Block Deluxe also has a W-2 photo import. The W-2 photo import allows you to fill your taxes online without keying in numbers from little boxes. You can import 1099s, and last year’s return from other tax prep companies will be imported. As mentioned before with H&R Block Free, with H&R Block Deluxe, if you feel you need more help with your taxes, you can pay for H&R Block’s Online Assist for phone or screen-sharing sessions with a tax expert, enrolled agent, or CPA. Additionally, as was the case with the free version, there are some limitations with the entry-level software.

If you need to file a Schedule C, which is for freelancers or small-business owners, a Schedule D, which is

for capital gains and losses, or a Schedule E, which is for income and rental property, you’ll have to upgrade. Fortunately, there’s a question-and-answer process H&R Block employs that can help point you to a suitable upgrade.

TurboTax Tax returns can become more complex if you’re a freelancer, self-employed, have investments to track, or are a landlord whose income comes from rent. In these cases, there tend to be extra tax rules that need to be followed, and extra tax forms that need to be filled out. Tax software that might suit you in these situations is TurboTax. Two versions, in particular, TurboTax Premier and TurboTax Self-Employed, may be most useful for this kind of tax work. For calculating investments and rental income, TurboTax Premier can help you because it supports schedules D, E, and K-1.

If you need support for the home office deduction, special features for freelancers, and extra deduction help, TurboTax Self-Employed can assist you in that along with providing everything in the Premier version. Users also get to have a one-year subscription to QuickBooks Self-Employed, which has an expense-tracking feature that allows you to track mileage from your phone and store photos of your receipts. Similar to H&R Block’s Online Assist, TurboTax offers a feature called TurboTax Live, which allows you to review your tax filing with an enrolled agent or CPA before you file, and also get unlimited get tax advice. If you want your tax return signed and e-filed, they’ll do that as well.

You have the option of making an appointment or talking instantly to a tax pro through a one-way video where you see them, and they only see your screen. Since self-employed filers have to deal with yearround issues related to difficult tax situations, TurboTax Live provides access to experts for tax advice year-round. 1099s can be imported, and you can also take a photo to import W-2 information. The TurboTax Premier and Self-Employed packages also have a mobile app called ItsDeductible. The app helps you find the deduction value of household items, donated clothes, or other objects.

The downside of TurboTax is that it’s a pricier option than most of the other tax software packages you can choose from. You also have to consider the added cost that will come with doing a state return.

Additionally, it can cost more if you require human help when filing taxes online. Taxfyle is another way you could get human help for your taxes to avoid the extra cost of getting it from TurboTax. Nonetheless, TurboTax can provide you a lot of useful features that may make it worth the price in the end.

TaxSlayer If you’re a person that can handle their own taxes, TaxSlayer might be the best option for you. The pricing of the packages is based on the level of support. The cheapest of their packages will allow you to do tax forms, self-employment returns, itemizing, and other similar things to their most expensive package, with the difference being you receive less support. That means you won’t see as many onscreen explanations of certain concepts like other competitors provide.

You can receive phone and email tech support for free, and for tax help, it’s free with the Premium and Self-Employed packages that TaxSlayer offers. The service that they offer is called Ask a Tax Pro. The way it works is that users submit questions through their TaxSlayer accounts, and within one business day, the tax pro will contact them either via phone or email. In particular, if you have the Self-Employed package, you’ll get access to tax pros who specialize in tax issues related to self-employment. Overall, if you know you don’t have as many questions related to your taxes, this software may work for you better.

All of these options have their benefits and downsides. What’s important in deciding which tax software you should go with is knowing what your needs are. Once you have determined your needs, whether it’s tax support or self-employment tax features, you’ll be able better able to choose a tax software that can work best for you.