5 Tax Sites That Are Actually Free to File (How to Choose the Best One)

It’s tax time again, and I’m sitting here trying to meditate away my tax-related stress, wondering if I should just file with that expensive tax preparer who keeps calling me, or figure out how to file my taxes myself for free. There are ways to do it for free or through an inexpensive online resource, so I did some research before making my decision.

I discovered that every year, the IRS provides a list of tax sites such as TaxAct, File Your Taxes, OLT, TaxSlayer, and Free Tax USA, that are actually free to file if you access them through the IRS web portal, but eligibility will depend on factors like the state where you live, adjusted gross income (AGI), and your age. So I did some digging into the ones with the widest range of eligibility factors to see who offered the best free service. And these are the steps I took to file my taxes for free.

So let’s get started

Gather Your Documents

Determine what documents you will need for this year based on last year’s return.

Create a checkoff list using your prior year’s taxes to see which documents you should have already received. If nothing has changed from the previous year, start by listing the documents you submitted for that year.

Gather and prepare them for filing by putting them in a large envelope or folder and labeling it 2022 Taxes.

Make calls or visit company websites to request or download the documents you need but don’t have.

Some of the forms you may need include W2s, and 1099s (1099-G, 1099-INT, 1099-R, 1099-DIV, 1099-B, 1099-MISC, etc.). Don’t forget your student loan interest. If you still had to pay interest on your student loans last year, you can get some of that money back by including your 1098-E form.

Will you still need a 1095-B or 1095-C for 2022 Taxes? Not necessarily. If you don’t have a copy, you don’t have to wait until you have it before doing your taxes. (^)

However, if you normally get a 1095-A, it’s best to wait until you receive that before doing your taxes. (^)

Just make sure you are not missing any documents before you file. You don’t want to have to do a tax amendment next year.

What You Need to Know Before Choosing a Free Tax Service

It’s so important to choose the tax preparation service that works best for you. But there are a few things you need to know before you test out any of the free options.

Restrictions – Some programs have age, location, or income restrictions to qualify for free tax filing. With some, you might be able to file your federal return for free, but if your state isn’t covered under their free plan or if they don’t offer free state filing, you will have to pay a fee to file the state portion of your taxes only.

Live Support – What happens if you have a question? Is there an email address, phone number, or chat option to contact them for live support? It’s very important to know that if you need assistance navigating the software or the prompts on the platform, there is a working contact option.

BBB Status – The Better Business Bureau is there to call out all the scammers and bad business practices. If a company is listed with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and its status is positive, it will most likely list its BBB affiliation on the site.

This can indicate a good consumer reputation. If they don’t have a bunch of complaints about them and they have a good rating, they most likely will list BBB accreditation on the site.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This site may also contain other affiliate links for which I may be compensated at no additional cost to you. (see disclaimers)

Audit Protection – Do they offer audit protection? If somewhere down the line, you receive a notice from the IRS that you are being audited, are they going to be there for you to help you sort it all out?

If they are not willing to offer that option, in my opinion, they are saying, “Our software is great, but if you do something that gets you audited, that’s on you.”

 A company with that attitude does not hold much favor in my book.

It’s ok if they charge a fee for that peace of mind service. That’s ok. You just want to make sure they offer the option if that’s something that is important to you.

Use these features to narrow down the options. Make the choice as personal as possible. What works for one person, might be a deal-breaker for another.

So be as honest with yourself as possible about your tolerance levels when it comes to choosing a financial team for doing your taxes. You’re building this team to handle your tax preparation, and that team has to be worthy of your trust.

Make Sure You’re Protected

If you don’t see that little lock before the web address when you visit a site, then you know it’s not a site you want to share sensitive personal information with. You don’t want to enter your social security number on a site that couldn’t bother to keep your information secure.

It goes even deeper for tax filing sites. Even if the lock is there, other measures need to be in place as well so that you feel safe and secure when using their platform.

Your tax file is a major part of your financial history. You want to make sure it’s secure.

• Does the site list privacy/trust certifications that indicate it’s a secure and trusted site?
• Do they offer 2-step verification to protect your account and financial data? Some use authentication apps like Google Authenticator that require you to enter a pin number. This helps to confirm that you’re the only person who can access your profile. Every time you log in, they might send a code to your phone or email or require a pin number. It’s an extra measure of security that’s good to have when you’re sharing your Social Security number with someone you don’t know and can’t see. Both methods are good for keeping someone else from logging into your account and accessing your personal information.
• Is audit protection an option? When it comes to audit protection, if you file a simple tax return, you may not feel you need it, and that’s ok. It may not be a deal-breaker if the company doesn’t offer it, but if that’s something you worry about, you might want to see if they offer it before signing up.

Review of IRS-Sponsored Free File Tax Sites

Take a look at the available free file options the IRS has partnered with for 2022 tax year filing. (updated January 2023)

Below are the current Free File Offers the IRS is Promoting:

• Tax Act
• FreeTaxUSA
• OLT
• IRS Free File Program
• 1040Now
• FileYourTaxes
• TaxSlayer

The IRS has information on how to find free Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE).

I reviewed the details for each of the Free File Tax offers listed on the IRS site for 2022. Then I narrowed them down to the 5 that offered both Federal and State tax filing and seemed to be more of a fit for the majority of people.

I didn’t bother with the ones that say “No Free State Filing”, because… unless they have some whole other meaning for the word FREE, how on earth would that still make it free?

The 5 free services I chose to review are;  TaxAct, File Your Taxes, OLT, TaxSlayer, and Free Tax USA.

Since filing state taxes is not optional for most, I chose programs that would work for the majority of people. If you don’t live in Alaska or one of the other 9 states that don’t require you to file state taxes, you most likely have no choice but to file state taxes.

So the programs that say no free state filings are not REALY offering free tax filing services for the majority of people.

IRS Free File Tax Service Reviews

Below are the details I found about the free file services these tax sites offer:

Tax Act

Income – Tax Act requires you to have an adjusted gross income (AGI) that is $73,000 or less per year.

Age – You must be between 20 and 58 years old. 

Location – Federal tax filing is free for all states. If you qualify for the free Federal return, you will also qualify for the free state return if you live in one of the following states (AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, HI, IA, ID, KS, LA, ME, MS, MT, OK, ND, NE, NH, NM, RI, UT, VT, or WV) Otherwise you’ll have to pay $39.95 to file your state return.

Notes: If your screen does not say IRS Online Free File, under that TaxAct logo, then you did not use the correct link and will most likely not get the free service. Go back to the IRS site and click the button for TaxAct so you don’t miss out.

If you qualify for the free Federal but your state is not listed, you will have to pay $39.95 for the state only. If you don’t qualify for the free federal or state, They have packages from $24.95 to $64.95.

I didn’t see a BBB Accreditation, but they do offer 2 step verification. They send a code to your email and then one to your phone just to make sure it’s you. That’s a plus.

They offer Google Authenticator as an option. I always have a hard time finding the app. Then before I figure out what’s going on, the code has changed so I don’t usually use that option.

The interface has a nice clean look, but that’s not why we go to tax sites. They provide you with an option to upload your prior-year tax return. That’s definitely a plus. But for some reason, it didn’t work for me. It may be only if you did your prior year’s taxes through TaxAct because I wasn’t able to upload mine.

For general questions. You can contact TaxAct Support at (319) 373-3600.

FileYourTaxes

They offer 2 filing options with different requirements.

Income – With FileYourTaxes your adjusted gross income (AGI) can be from $8,500 to $73,000 per year. That covers pretty much most people.

Age – You must be 66 years old or younger for option #1. That’s a nice wide range. Hopefully, the IRS provides other options for people over 66. For option #2 you can be any age.

If you’re an AARP member, you can find help at the AARP Tax-Aide Site Locator.

Location – Above the logo, make sure it says IRS Free File program delivered by FileYourTaxes.com. 

For option #1, Federal tax filing is free for all states. In option #2, Federal tax filing is only free if you’re filing for CT, DE, DC, HI, IA, ID, IN, KS, KY, ME, MN, MT, ND, NE, NM, OK, OR, RI, TN, UT, VT, WV, WY. If you qualify for the free Federal return, you’ll also qualify for the free state return if you’re filing for IA, ID, ND, or VT. Other State returns are $40.00. That’s a little limiting.

Notes: If you don’t qualify, Federal Returns are $45 and State returns are $40.00.

They are BBB accredited and give you a few options for security measures. 

Be aware that if you choose to request a security code, they give you a code with a bunch of spaces in between the numbers and letters, but if you enter it that way it won’t work. You have to remove the spaces. 

When you enter the site from the IRS link, you will see that it says IRS Free File on the top. Once you’re signed up, the main screen doesn’t show that you are still using the IRS link. So make sure you start from the IRS site link when you first sign up. 

The site looks a little like you’re running Windows 3.1 on a site created with Yahoo pages or Geocities. Dating myself here. LOL!! 😂

Even though the look is not as important as the function, people buy with their eyes. So hopefully they work on that for next year.

I started the return from the IRS site and had to take a 30-40 minute call. I found out the hard way that if you have to log out and continue later, don’t use the IRS link. Go directly to the main site and log in from there. You will then be able to see the return you originally started with the free file option.

Their support system gives you a ticket number. Unfortunately, it doesn’t clearly say how the ticket number should be used. 

If you want to speak to someone instead of sending emails, it will cost $17.50 per incident. And there’s no option on the site to cancel your account or delete your profile. They may have changed that. I’m hoping they did.

I didn’t end up continuing with this one because the agreement requires you to consent to receive marketing communications. 

For general questions, you can reach FileYourTaxes at (805) 256-1788 / taxman(at)FileYourTaxes.com

OLT (Online Taxes)

Income – For OLT, when I did my taxes with them a few years ago, your income could be up to $73,000 per year. Now for the 2022 tax year, your adjusted gross income (AGI) must be $41,000 or less. That’s going to leave a lot of people out, but it’s still good for the people who qualify. The AGI is $73,000 or less for active military personnel.

Age – There are no age restrictions. 

Location – Federal tax filing is always free unless you choose the premium package. If you qualify for the IRS free file, you won’t have to pay for the state return. 

All states that require state tax filing are supported.

Individual state filing is not required if you live and earn income in Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, or Wyoming.

Notes: The first line of text should say, IRS Free File Program delivered by Online Taxes at OLT.com. It’s not as easy to see because of the design and layout. 

They provide email support. Also, all tax forms and schedules are supported. Even with the IRS free file version. So it works well for simple and more complex returns like small business deductions, self-employment, rental income, and investments. 

If you don’t qualify for the free federal and state through the IRS site, the regular service is still a great deal with Federal returns always free.

Their regular free version, although not technically free since they currently charge $9.95 for state returns (normally $12.95), provides email support along with all the simple and complex return benefits.

The premium edition is currently $7.99 for federal and $7.99 for the state. Normally $9.95. It includes audit assistance and live phone and chat support. 

That’s a win! 🎉

The layout is not bad. It’s a little clunky in spots and doesn’t offer prescreening questions so you can avoid going through all those deduction types. That’s annoying but hopefully, they will fix that for next year. 

They are accredited with the BBB, have privacy certification, and several security measures in place including using Google Authenticate. You can also create a pin number to protect your account, and both email and phone verifications are initiated at sign-up to assure that it’s you.

Phone support is for customers only. 😐 I get it, but a number for general questions would have been nice to see. There’s a fax number, but that’s just so 1980s.

However, I was really surprised and impressed by this one because of the ability to file complex business returns for free and the low-cost upgrade.

I got all the way to the end and it said, “Congratulations, you qualify for free file.” 

So I continued and was actually able to file both Federal and State without paying one single cent. I received my Federal refund pretty quickly as well.

The state is always playing games. 😒

TaxSlayer

Income – With TaxSlayer you must have an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $60,000 or less per year. 

Age – You must be 57 years old or younger.

Location – If you qualify for the free Federal return, you’ll also qualify for the free state return if you live in one of the following states (AR, AZ, GA, IA, ID, IN, KY, MA, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NH, NY, OR, RI, SC, VA, VT, or WV) Otherwise you’ll have to pay $39.95 to file your state return only. 

Notes: If you don’t qualify for the free federal or state, it’s $29.95 for Federal and $39.95 for state returns.

Upon entering the site from the IRS Free File link, you’ll see IRS Free File Program at the top and an orange pop-up that says File for Free with American Pledge.

They have a free file service on their regular site if you have simple returns. There are also upgrade packages. (Classic $19.95 + $39.95 for State, Premium $39.95 + $39.95 for State, Self Employed $49.95 + $39.95 for State)

Unlimited phone and email support. 

For general questions, you can reach TaxSlayer at (706) 922-6741. They also offer email and chat.

FreeTaxUSA

Income – With FreeTaxUSA you must have an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $41,000 or less per year. 

Age – There are no age restrictions. 

Location – Federal & State tax filing is free if you meet the AGI requirement. Otherwise, you will have to pay $14.99 to file your state return. The Federal will be free.

Notes: A line should appear below the header that says, IRS Free File program delivered by FreeTaxUSA. 

No BBB accreditation but they have a few privacy certifications. 

If you don’t qualify for the IRS free file options, Their regular Basic, Premium, and Self Employed packages are all free $0 for Federal and $14.99 for state taxes. 

All tax forms and schedules are supported, so tax situations like self-employment qualify. 

For an additional $7.99 you can get the Deluxe package which includes unlimited amendments, Live Chat Support, and Audit Assist. Definitely a plus.

You must be signed in to your account to request quick answers. They don’t list a phone number but provide an email address for questions. support(at)support.freetaxusa.com

Choose a Tax Site By What’s Most Important to You

Weigh the pros and cons but choose based on the aspects of the program that are most important to you.

Don’t just choose one because it’s free. If you don’t feel comfortable and secure with the service, then it’s not the best one for you. 

Free is great and all, but it’s not better than security, confidence, and comfortability. 

Do you feel comfortable with the choice because it doesn’t seem complicated and it saves you money? 

Would you feel more comfortable, paying a small fee just to feel more secure with the choice? 

Think about those things. Everyone has different needs and values. What’s most important to you? Make your choice based on that.

Do You Meet the Qualifications?

Double-check the details for each service. Determine if you meet the qualifications and requirements for the free file version of the program you’re most interested in. 

When you have made your decision and start going through the filing process, the software should let you know if you enter information that prevents you from being qualified for the free service. 

If it was a mistake, you should be able to go back and correct it. But if it isn’t a mistake, you will most likely have to upgrade to the, hopefully not-so-expensive, pro or premium package, or otherwise take your business elsewhere.

Introduce Tranquility Into Your Tax Time Routine

Now it’s time to pick the winner. Which program offers the most peace of mind?

Now that you’ve gathered all the documents you need in your folder, narrowed them down to the tax service that has the greatest benefits for you, and decided which one you’re going to use, you can breathe easy. 

Knowing that you will later be able to check your refund status on the IRS website keeps you from constantly wondering how long it’s going to take. 

So light one of my favorite candles, burn some palo santo or incense, throw on some Lo-Fi or meditation music, and brew yourself a cup of herbal tea. This is what I do to keep calm during tax time.

Then head over to the IRS Free File Tax page and select the tax service that ticked all the boxes for your needs, and just get started. 

Now you’ve created a tranquil environment and brought your own brand of peace to a normally taxing activity. LOL! 😂

Prices are subject to change