TaxBrain 1040 EZ Online Review

($14.95 for federal 1040 EZ, $29.95 for state return). Although a TaxBrain review on About.com describes this as one of the fastest online tax prep programs available, the expert review also notes several weaknesses. For instance, instead of the guided interview format employed by most major tax prep software providers, TaxBrain uses an interface based on the fill-in-the-blank forms used by the Internal Revenue Service. This means you'll essentially have to fill out the same IRS forms you'd use for traditional paper filing, only online. And as TopTenReviews.com points out in its TaxBrain review, this doesn't seem very user-friendly.

You won't receive the help or explanations offered by the other tax preparation software programs either, another drawback of TaxBrain that adds to the intimidation factor if you're a first-time filer or have questions about the process. For these reasons, TaxBrain may be appropriate for only a very small group of users; that is, taxpayers who are already quite comfortable with preparing their own returns, have a very straightforward financial situation and few, if any, questions.

TaxBrain 1040 EZ Online is also unreasonably expensive for what it offers. Although the company lets you try the product for free, you can't print your return without paying. TaxBrain also charges for federal e-filing even though many of its competitors provide that service for free. TaxBrain 1040 EZ filers pay $14.95, with an additional $29.95 for a state return, and Basic 1040 filers pay even more, with some paying up to $69.95 just for the federal portion. When you consider that TaxBrain offers the least in the way of help for its customers, this doesn't seem like much of a deal.

This tax preparation software provider also earns low marks for execution and customer service, according to TaxBrain reviews. WMBFnews.com reports that in early 2010, TaxBrain e-filed thousands of returns with incorrect bank routing numbers, delaying refunds for scores of frustrated users who had to contact the company, the IRS, and their bank to determine what went wrong. After discovering the error, the Better Business Bureau says TaxBrain offered refunds to affected customers, but that came as little consolation to TaxBrain users who flooded Ripoffreport.com with complaints.