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Tax Preparation Software Review

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Before we discuss how free and cheap tax prep software performs, it's worth repeating that these products are designed for people with straightforward tax situations. If you own a home (or bought and sold one), maintain a home office, experienced gains or losses from stock transactions, received an inheritance, contribute to a college savings account, earn foreign income, and/or have any number of complicating factors, you have no choice but to upgrade to more expensive versions of your preferred program or forego the DIY model and buy the services of a tax professional.

The annual chore of preparing a tax return is rarely fun, and each of the quality tax prep software providers have their share of partisans and detractors among both experts and consumers. Sometimes it's hard to know which version of the software the review is referring to, and whether a critic is venting over the whole tax thing or struggling with a particular software package. We waded through a lot of information and reviews about the key players and this is what we found:

Tax Prep Software Ease of Use.

Nearly all of the major tax prep software providers are trying to keep the tax-filing process as simple and painless as possible. TopTenReviews.com gives top grades to H&R Block At Home and TaxACT for intuitive navigation, ease of signup, and being novice friendly (i.e., the program provides clear explanations and instructions, guides you to appropriate tax forms, helps you identify deductions and other ways to reduce your tax liability, and offers professional online tax advice). The expert review site likes the informative range of help options with TaxSlayer Extreme, and the ease of navigating from section to section. In tax preparation software reviews, Toptenreviews.com hedges slightly on navigation and novice friendliness in its assessment of OnepriceTaxes, noting its lack of help or search functions, and the absence of a "back" button. TaxBrain only earns average marks from this tax preparation software review site, which notes that the data input screens look just like IRS forms (possibly frustrating people without much tax preparation expertise) and you can't go back or make changes until you've finished the screen.

User experience with these sites varies. Some tax preparation software reviews on Amazon say H&R Block TaxCut (now H&R Block At Home) is simple to use, gets the job done quickly, and lets you easily correct mistakes. Another consumer who used the Deluxe package to prepare his 2009 tax return appreciates the list of tax credits the software provides, including many he was unaware of, according to a tax preparation software review on Doughroller.net. But H&R Block At Home takes a few hits on Toptenreviews.com, where users complain about difficulties importing data from the prior year if you switch from the online version to a download version and about interview screens that focus too heavily on some matters and not enough on others.

Tax prep software reviews by users of TaxSlayer Extreme are mostly positive. According to comments posted on Free-tax-software.net, users appreciate being able to complete simple tax returns in less than an hour and receiving their refund in two weeks. One user writing on the same site who has used TaxSlayer since 2005 reportedly prepares his return online using the free versions of TurboTax, TaxACT, and H&R Block At Home each year in order to compare the results, and claims he almost always comes out ahead with TaxSlayer. In a tax software preparation review on Viewpoints, another customer notes how simple the process is and how the program's deduction finder helps her maximize deductions.

With TaxACT, you have the option of watching informational videos before you begin work on a section, and the program automatically saves your work so you can pick up where you left off. But users don't uniformly agree this is a user-friendly program. Tax preparation software reviews on Free-tax-software.net reveal mixed experiences with TaxACT. Several consumers say it's a snap if you can read the instructions and use a computer, but one reports difficulty printing out the state tax return and not finding a solution in the FAQs or instructions nor a means of contacting the company directly; others complain about hidden charges, errors, and missing refunds. Tax preparation software reviews by a few users of TaxACT on Toptenreviews also carp about calculation errors in the software, and a review on Notebookreview.com criticizes TaxACT for providing online help that's little more than a repeat of IRS instructions.

Users have both positive and negative views of OnepriceTaxes. The program wins praise in tax prep software reviews on Amazon for being very easy to use and responding quickly to queries. But others on the same site slam it for inadequate explanations, poor navigation, difficulty in making changes, and not handling itemized deductions.

Tax Prep Software Customer Service.

The most common complaint about free or cheap tax prep software concerns customer service. Although most tax prep software providers promise plenty of help and technical support, usually in the form of email correspondence and online documentation or FAQs, the resounding cry from consumers is that they fall far short of their claims. Users of both online and boxed software products report that it's often difficult to find a phone number for customer support, and even if you do, you can't assume you'll speak with a live person or get a satisfactory response. Email doesn't always work, either -- users say responses are often tardy or not on point.

Certainly some customer disappointment may be attributable to user error and/or a failure to read the fine print, but some consumers feel misled by satisfaction guarantees that don't hold up. In a tax preparation software review on Consumeraffairs.com, one H&R Block TaxCut (now H&R Block At Home) user writes of her frustration when attempting to return a boxed version of the software only to discover there was no return address or 800-number she could call for assistance. Another complains that the live chat feature merely connected her to a computer that could only deal with canned questions. Others grumble about unauthorized charges that customer service is unwilling or unable to rectify. Taxpayers lodge similar complaints against TaxSlayer. Although a tax preparation software review on Hubpages.com is upbeat about TaxSlayer's customer support, user reviews on Epinions report that they can't reach anyone at TaxSlayer via email or telephone when they have technical difficulties. A TaxSlayer customer review on Toptenreviews.com concurs, noting that you get a recording saying call volume is too high.

The online version of TaxACT comes in for its share of criticism, as well. Users posting tax preparation software reviews on Consumeraffairs.com say the boilerplate technical help wasn't at all helpful, charges were assessed when the user called to ask about a refund that hadn't shown up in their bank account, and questions sent through email aren't answered. At Toptenreviews.com a user reports that you can't get help from customer service for complex questions until you've paid, and another simply says tech support is useless. The TaxACT Endeavor Card (for your refund) has also been the subject of numerous consumer complaints (see below).

The experts at Toptenreviews.com like the OnepriceTaxes option of paying $7.95 to jump to the head of the line with your emailed tax questions, but users' experience seems mixed. Some tax preparation software reviews of OnepriceTaxes on Amazon report getting a speedy response while others complain their email requests for help were never acknowledged.

TaxBrain appears to have inadvertently committed a major faux pas this year by entering incorrect bank routing numbers for direct deposit of refunds, according to irate customers who posted tax prep software reviews on Measuredup.com. (FYI, the IRS eventually issues paper checks in cases like this.) One user asserts on Ripoffreport.com that the company apologized only after reports about the problem appeared in the media.

Tax Prep Software Debit Cards.

In 2009, TaxACT received a rash of complaints about its debit card refund option. Plenty of users unknowingly opted (or allowed TaxACT to select by default) to receive their tax refunds via an Endeavor Card prepaid MasterCard

Although this arrangement may have benefits for taxpayers who don't have a bank account, many consumers writing tax preparation software reviews on Consumeraffairs.com found the debit card debacle to be a nasty surprise. Compounding the problem was the fact that users generally provided banking information to pay their TaxACT fees, so they were unaware that the refund process was transacted outside of their bank accounts. One user did not even recognize the card when it arrived in the mail and almost shredded it. Pay careful attention to the disclosures in fine print so you don't select the debit card option by mistake.

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TurboTax
TaxBrain 1040 EZ Online
TaxACT Online Ultimate Bundle
OnePrice Taxes
TaxSlayer Extreme
H&R Block at Home

 

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