Mediaboss Marketing

We began our analysis by looking at eight online tax software providers: eFile.com, H&R Block, TurboTax, LibertyTax, Jackson Hewitt, Credit Karma, TaxSlayer, and TaxAct.

We decided to exclude Credit Karma and Liberty Tax from our reviews. Credit Karma is in the process of selling its tax software business, and it remains unclear what this would mean for consumers. In December 2019, the Department of Justice settled with Liberty Tax for not taking steps to prevent the filing of fraudulent returns prepared by its franchisee stores.

To evaluate the six finalists, we created two generic tax filing profiles:

Our analysis rests on side-by-side comparisons of each providers features and costs to assess which offers the best online tax software. We reviewed each of the tax online software to determine the following best categories:

Best Free Online Tax Software. For best free online tax software, we analysed which provider offered the most impressive overall package of features while also charging no fees for federal and state tax return filings, lacked income or filing status restrictions, and offered the broadest selection of tax filing forms.

Best Online Tax Software for Ease of Use. An easy-to-use platform is most important for many users. For this category, we reviewed each offering to determine which platform provided the simplest process for completing users tax filing forms. We reviewed each companys Q&A tax interview options, looked for the ability to upload W2 forms and automate data entry, explored all navigation menus, and gauged the length of time required to complete the tax return.

Best Online Tax Software for the Self-Employed. Self-employed, freelance workers generally have more complicated income tax filings. Ensuring that online tax software caters to the special needs of freelancers and self-employed individuals is essential at tax time. We evaluated each platforms offering in this category for pricing, support, state filing fees, deduction finder options, and total costs.

Best Online Tax Software for Customer Service. Our analysis included a thorough review of each platforms support options. We determined if the online tax software provider offered phone, live chat, email, or help articles for users, and evaluated each option. Also, we contacted customer service departments by phone to evaluate its hold time and customer service quality.

Each category was weighted and scored feature by feature. The author, a certified public accountant (CPA) with over 20 years of taxation experience, completed all tax software testing by opening accounts with each provider to perform hands-on evaluations.

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The Best Tax Software Of 2021 Forbes Advisor - Forbes