Comment by unsnap_biceps
5 months ago
I know a number of people who are now using https://www.freetaxusa.com/ to file their taxes for free, but I've been hesitant to. Does anyone know offhand if they're actually trustworthy?
5 months ago
I know a number of people who are now using https://www.freetaxusa.com/ to file their taxes for free, but I've been hesitant to. Does anyone know offhand if they're actually trustworthy?
I’ve used them for probably the better part of a decade. I’ve never had any issues, they’re pretty inexpensive, they e-file by default and you get a notification when state and fed are accepted. The wizard is easy to follow and explanations are available. They have bells and whistles like audit protection, that seem reasonable but that I’ve largely avoided.
The name might seem a little sketchy, but it’s a legit service. I don’t know about “free” - I’ve always ended up paying to file at least one of state or federal, I don’t recall, but not pricy.
(Edit - looking closer, I’ve been using them since 2007. Wow, time flies. Great service, no complaints.)
I’ve used them the past 3 years for my taxes, great experience and never had a single issue for what that’s worth
They don’t spam my email and phone unlike Intuit (even after I deleted my account)
Ditto - no spam at all. I do get reminders that it’s time to file, and conveniently, if nothing has changed since the previous year (address, employer, marital status, etc.) then they can pre-populate the form.
The IRS provides a list of free filing websites: https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/browse-all-offers/
I believe they may even pay these companies to offer the service.
Free Tax USA doesn't have an income limit, and may be the only one, so I've used them for at least 5 years. They charge $10 for state filing, so I use CalFile instead.
My tax situation is pretty simple and they've filled my needs. The only issue I've had is with exempting Treasury bills from state tax but I don't file state with them anyway so maybe I missed something.
I've filed with freetaxusa for about 6 years. It's been great. Does everything TurboTax can. It's free, but I splurge and spend all of $8 for Deluxe to show support.
Anything to unseat Intuit. That said, a direct file option would be best, but I don't trust myself to fill the forms correctly.
https://www.freetaxusa.com/privacy
> The information given may be used to improve and develop and train our artificial intelligence and other machine learning models.
Full context is better --
> When using digital media (PDF, photo, etc.) imports and/or uploads on FreeTaxUSA.com, any information submitted by the customer through this service may be processed using automated (AI) and/or manual (human) methods. The information given may be used to improve and develop and train our artificial intelligence and other machine learning models. We implement robust safeguards in our use of AI to maintain security and compliance, ensuring sensitive information is protected and handled responsibly. Any sensitive information is anonymized or excluded from use. We do not share customer data or trained AI models with any third party. When leveraging cloud infrastructure, all data is securely managed and maintained under TaxHawk’s exclusive control.
In other words, if you don't use features like PDF, photo upload, there's no AI use.
First time filing on our own in 25 years and it was great experience. Paid for the state filing. They didn’t seem to really push the add ons for federal.
I've used em for years after TurboTax made it even more annoying to file for free.
I prep about a dozen returns every year with it. Id say it's the easiest and most straight forward e-file I've ever used. A simple return should take maybe 10 minutes. They don't upsell very hard either which is super nice.
They also keep your previous years return for free which greatly speeds up filing. Most services charge for that.
Do your return in TurboTax next time but before you pay, do the same return on freetaxusa. You will see it’s the same amount if you entered the same information.
I highly recommend them. I don’t know what you mean by “trustworthy”, but they are a legit service and have way less dark patterns, upsell screens, charge less money, and are overall a vastly better experience than TurboTax.
I've been using opentaxsolve since... a while. Definitely a crusty Linux user's method, and it does cost me the price of a stamp each year, but I like it.