Starting to think about tax preparation? See if you qualify for a free online edition of Turbo Tax.
Or, use H&R Block at Home to prepare, print, and e-file your Federal Taxes for FREE!
Best of all, they guarantee it to be accurate!
(Note: The link in this post is my referral link. Read my disclosure policy here.)
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{ 14 comments... read them below or add one }
Hi! We qualify for the free edition of turbo tax…which is how we usually file but this year they are charging $30 to file state while the federal is still free.
Yeah, I’m pretty certain my state was free last year, and now it’s $30. I’m not really willing to pay that much, but the thought of going back to paper and pencil method is not appealing, either. Not sure how I will resolve that yet.
Really? Free? For both state AND federal? What’s the catch?
Federal is free; most state filings have charges between $15-$30.
I only see Turbo Tax 1040EZ and simple versions are free. It looks like if you have deductions, it is not. I’ll have to see.
I have used Turbo Tax online for many years now, and have never paid for it. In past years we’ve had itemized deductions, child tax credit, earned income credit, and retirement saving credit- all sorts of things to make it more than just the EZ form. I always went to the IRS website and linked to the free version from there. Here is what IRS.gov shows…
TurboTax® Freedom Edition:
Adjusted Gross Income: $31,000 or less, or
$57,000 or less, and Active military or
Eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, and
Live in any state or U.S. Citizens and resident aliens with foreign addresses
I have done this with the H&R block offer for several years now. I do my state ones separately since my state allows free filing directly on their dept of revenue website. I’ve never had any problems – been very happy with how easy it is to do. Filed both federal and state AND did FAFSA for my husband in less than 2 hours this weekend.
Mary Ellen, thank you for the explanation that only the 1040EZ federal filing is free.
I’ve read all over the blogosphere that federal tax filing is free, but no one actually says how it to get it for free. I even inquired directly at Turbo Tax, and was told no, it is not free. I can’t use an 1040 EZ, so that explains why.
You can access Turbo Tax through ebates dot com and get 7.5% cash back on your filing fees.
I’m not sure if this is available for other online tax services, but with Turbo Tax it worked for me. I just filed Saturday and got the ebates confirmation today.
My niece used to work in Missouri at H&R block (but now lives in Washington where I do). She got me started using Taxact online. It’s free and very similar to Turbo tax (which we used to pay for because we did not qualify for free turbo tax either). Tax act is fast and we already got our refund.
You can check here http://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/jsp/index.jsp?ck to see whether there’s a service you qualify with for federal. Our state website has a separate list of options for free filing.
Has anyone used this service before? I am in college and I earn commission only, and for some reason I feel like I’d screw it up and get in trouble with the IRS :/ Is it easy? Does it guide you through the process in even my situation with loans, grants, and commission only basis?
Yes it does, Turbo Tax is very easy and guides you through income and deductions.
I just found out about filing your taxes for free. Go to myfreetaxes.com. It’s sponsored by Walmart and H&R Block. I haven’t checked it out yet, but fully intend to.