experience with IRS free file options

perinova

Full time employment: Posting here.
Joined
Apr 18, 2006
Messages
563
I am considering IRS free file this year since I will be under the $84k limit.

The system is routing me to the following options which would be free if I remain under the limit. If above the limit there is a fee which I think will not be an outrageous amount, and state filing is $25.

Does anyone has any recommendation or horrible experience with any of these?

eztaxreturn.com
1040.com
1040now.net

There is also fileyourtaxes.com, but state filing is $40. and 1040now.net, with state filing at $18 but this last one seems amateurish. I won't be considering those two.
 
In addition to FreeFile (free versions of commercial tax software) there's also Free Fillable Forms, which is the IRS' own creation.

I've been using that for several years. Works great, and no need to give any information to the big tax software companies.

Today I pulled up my tax summary spreadsheet from last year and plugged my 2024 data into it. Then I downloaded all the 2024 IRS forms I'll need, and reviewed them for any changes (line numbers, standard deduction, etc.) and made the adjustments to my spreadsheet. I'm still waiting on one 1099 to be available on line, but I know what that amount is going to be so I already have everything I need to fill in the forms on line and submit them. I have to wait until later this month when FFF goes live, and for that last form to show up on the bank's web site, and I'll be able to plug it all in.

There's also the new IRS Direct Filing, again through the IRS and not a third party. It's new enough that it's more limited as to who can participate. For me the limitation was 1099-Rs aren't supported, so I couldn't try it out last year. Supposedly that restriction will go away in March, but I doubt I'll have the patience to wait until then.
 
I can't help with your selection, as I also use FFF. In the post above it seems like CaptTom is excited to start to taxes, much like me. Glad to see that I'm not the only person anxiously awaiting the annual puzzle of doing taxes by hand.

If I was under $84K and didn't enjoy doing taxes w/o software help, I would definitely use one of the free software packages noted.

(I see we have a new line on Digital Assets this year and a new SR 1040 form. Interesting, the puzzle grows. :))
 
The IRS LOVES FELIX!

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Will be using freetaxusa for the first time this year. Has good reviews on bogleheads.
This is my 3rd year. I'm a fan and have thought of upgrading just to throw some money in the kitty hoping they keep it free without tiering the software with a watered down free version. I have low income but most software considers me "complex" and requires the deluxe versions for the simplest of Schedule C (literally just some 1099 pay/SE tax) and investment income. They make the software available early enough to put in bogeys to plan my end of year LTCG realization too.
 
This is my 3rd year. I'm a fan and have thought of upgrading just to throw some money in the kitty hoping they keep it free without tiering the software with a watered down free version. I have low income but most software considers me "complex" and requires the deluxe versions for the simplest of Schedule C (literally just some 1099 pay/SE tax) and investment income. They make the software available early enough to put in bogeys to plan my end of year LTCG realization too.
Yes. Very user-friendly.
 
Taxhawk is free for federal and 15.99 for state. Happy customer here for a few years now.
Same here. I was a long tiem TaxAct user but prices starting increasing a lot every year so I switched to TaxHawk a few years ago. It does everything i need, just as well as TaxAct did.
 
I've used FreeTaxUsa for money years and been very happy with it. I file Federal with them for free and then go to my state tax website to file for my state. FreeTaxUsa charges a small amount to file my state taxes and I don't mind using the state tax site.

I have a personal policy that I DO NOT PAY TO FILE MY TAXES!
 
My daughter has used FreeTaxUSA the past couple of years with no problems. Before that she used TurboTax but there was some reason why she no longer qualified for that.
 
Way back in the 1990s I used a tax prep application called "Personal Tax Edge." It worked fine for me, and I bought the new version every year. Then one of the big, name-brand tax prep companies bought it out and discontinued it, so they could try to sell me their much more expensive version.

Since then, this has been my policy, too:
I have a personal policy that I DO NOT PAY TO FILE MY TAXES!
 
Does anyone has any recommendation or horrible experience with any of these?

eztaxreturn.com
1040.com
1040now.net
We used EZTaxReturn for several years without any issues (wasn't free back then). Unfortunately, a few years ago they messed up the way our Roth conversions were filed and I ended up having to do three years of amendments with large tax bills to fix that. We stopped using them after that. Yeah, we should have caught the mistake ourselves, but I incorrectly assumed the tax software knew more than we did.

We used H&R Block software for a few years, typically getting it around $15-20 based on posts on this forum. It worked Okay, not necessarily user friendly, but it got the job done without any issues.

This year we're going to try FreeTaxUSA for the first time. Our financial situation is a lot simpler now, so no reason to pay for tax software if I don't have to.
 
I guess the IRS free files options offered may not be the best. Looking at Taxhawk and FreetaxUSA are not on the list since they are technically not always free, but a better deal. Thank you for the feedback :)
 
Interesting: TaxHawk Inc. owns TaxHawk, FreeTaxUSA, and 1040Express...
 
Our first year using FreeTaxUSA went well. No issues, and fairly easy to use. I actually thought it was much friendlier than H&R Block software.

My daughter has been using EZTaxReturn for years and tried FreeTaxUSA also. She said it was much easier to use than EZTaxReturn also.

Now we're Just waiting for our huge $93 tax return. :) That's quite a difference from the $3-4K returns we usually got while working. This was our first return with a full year of retirement. Ironically, the interest on our high yield savings account probably hurt us the most. We increased the withholding on my wife's pension to compensate for next year.
 
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