Tax Return Software Companies & Reviews

TurboTax | TaxACT | H&R Block At Home | CompleteTax


TurboTax Review 2011-2012

Pros:

  • Free live tax support on all products
  • Excellent on-screen guidance and navigation
  • Excellent free live tax support
  • Excellent tech support
  • Trusted and reliable brand
  • Can access past returns for up to 10 years for free
  • Offers professional tax review: tax advisor manually goes through your entire tax return for $39.95
  • Audit triggers meter: shows your likelihood of being audited
  • Offers Audit Defense: full service representation if you are audited for $39.95

Cons:

  • High cost for filing state tax returns

We've found that TurboTax offers excellent tax products. The biggest advantages of using TurboTax's software are its error checking, on-screen guidance, and tax support. In fact, TurboTax is the only vendor to provide free live professional tax support. The only downside of using TurboTax is that their products are relatively expensive compared to their competitors. We recommend TurboTax to any user who needs robust guidance and support.

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TurboTax Pricing
Price Range Free - $99.95
State Add-On $39.95
Free Federal E-File
TurboTax Company Ratings
Ease of Use:
Tax Support:
Tech Support:
Reliability:
Overall Score: 19/20

TaxACT Review 2011-2012

Pros:

  • Low cost for filing federal tax returns
  • Low cost for filing state tax returns
  • Excellent on-screen guidance and navigation
  • Offers live tax support for a one-time fee of $7.95
  • Excellent tech support
  • Trusted and reliable brand
  • Can access last year's return for free

Cons:

  • At this time there were not notable cons.

With inexpensive products and top-notch tax support, TaxACT is the best deal of all tax products on market. This software has many similar services and features as TurboTax and H&R Block and is 66% less expensive than their comparable products. TaxACT includes the most complete and meticulous error-checking process of any tax product we've reviewed. For $7.95, TaxACT will not only give you access to their live tax support, but also assist you with filing your tax return. Since TaxACT doesn't give you the option to have a CPA review your tax return before filing, we wouldn't recommend it for highly complicated tax situations. In general, TaxACT's  products are best for those with simple to moderately complicated tax returns.

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TaxACT Pricing
Price Range Free - $17.95
State Add-On $17.95
Free Federal E-File
TaxACT Company Ratings
Ease of Use:
Tax Support:
Tech Support:
Reliability:
Overall Score: 16/20

H&R Block At Home Review 2011-2012

Pros:

  • Low cost for filing federal tax returns 
  • Excellent on-screen guidance and navigation
  • Excellent live tax support for $19.95 per session
  • Trusted and reliable brand
  • Offers professional tax review: tax advisor manually goes through your entire tax return for $19.95
  • Offers Audit Defense: full service representation if you are audited (included with Premium and Best of Both versions)
  • Has physical locations where tax representaives can help you fill out your tax return

Cons:

  • High cost for filing state tax returns
  • Must upgrade to the "Basic" version to access past returns

We've found that H&R Block offers above average tax products. The biggest advantages are that the software is very easy to to use and H&R Block is a trusted and reliable brand. H&R Block received average scores for tax support and tech support. They've got excellent live tax support, but it costs $19.95 per session, unless you have the Best of Both product, in which case it's free. This year, they were surpassed by TurboTax, who now offers free tax support for all product levels. We would recommend H&R Block to anyone who wants tax advice online, via phone or face-to-face in a physical location. Also, H&R Block is great for anyone needing to file a federal return only, as the federal filing is low cost and the state filing is high cost.

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H&R Block At Home Pricing
Price Range Free - $63.71
State Add-On $29.95
Free Federal E-File
H&R Block At Home Company Ratings
Ease of Use:
Tax Support:
Tech Support:
Reliability:
Overall Score: 15/20

CompleteTax Review 2011-2012

Pros:

  • Excellent Live tax support that costs $19.95 for 3 months of assistance
  • Trusted and reliable brand
  • Can access last year's return for free


 

Cons:

  • Difficult navigation and poor on-screen guidance
  • Poor tech support


 

CompleteTax offers competitive tax software products at prices lower than those offered by TurboTax and H&R Block.  CompleteTax’s Basic product is now available for free this year, which is a great value if you’re filing a straightforward tax return and want help with Life Changes (i.e. getting married, buying a house or car, having children, etc.) and importing 1099 and W-2 forms.  CompleteTax offers excellent Tax Support.  For a low price of $19.95, they will have a CPA review your tax return for errors and they will represent you in the event that you are audited by the IRS.  The only major drawback of this service is their poor tech support, which we did not find to be economical, helpful or responsive.

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CompleteTax Pricing
Price Range Free - $38.21
State Add-On $29.71
Free Federal E-File
CompleteTax Company Ratings
Ease of Use:
Tax Support:
Tech Support:
Reliability:
Overall Score: 12/20

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