$337 to File?! TurboTax Self-Employment Pricing is Out of Control!

So I've been using TurboTax basic for years which used to be free or close to it for my simple returns. Just a W2 and I was good to go. Well this year I did some freelance work on the side and holy crap, what a disaster! As soon as I entered my self-employment income, I was forced to upgrade to their Self-Employed plan which was already like $120. I thought that was the end of it. NOPE. Then I got to the state filing section and apparently that's another separate charge. Then they hit me with some "audit protection" fee that was automatically selected. By the time I got to the checkout page, they wanted $337 to file my taxes!!! I literally closed the browser and walked away from my computer. I've heard of TaxAct and FreeTaxUSA being cheaper, but has anyone else experienced this TurboTax price gouging? Is it even worth switching at this point or will I just run into the same nonsense with other software? I'm so frustrated right now.

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18 comments

Hassan Khoury

•8M

You're definitely not alone in experiencing sticker shock with TurboTax! Their pricing model is specifically designed to upsell you at every opportunity, especially when self-employment income enters the picture. For self-employment income, I'd recommend checking out FreeTaxUSA or TaxSlayer. FreeTaxUSA charges about $15 for federal filing with self-employment income and around $15 per state. TaxSlayer is a bit more but still way below what TurboTax charges. The "audit protection" is almost always an unnecessary add-on that they pre-select to boost their profits. Most people will never be audited, and even if you are, the protection services are typically very limited in what they actually do for you.

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Hassan Khoury

•8M

Most tax software allows you to import a PDF of last year's return, regardless of which software created it. You'll need to save or download your completed 2024 return from TurboTax as a PDF first. Then when starting with the new software, look for an option like "import last year's return." It typically works pretty seamlessly and saves you from manually entering all your personal information. For W-2s and other income forms, many services also offer direct import options similar to TurboTax, though the specific financial institutions they connect with might vary slightly.

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Benjamin Kim

•8M

I went through the exact same thing last year when I started doing some freelance graphic design. TurboTax wanted nearly $300 and I was shocked! I ended up using https://taxr.ai instead and saved so much money. It's specifically designed for people with self-employment income and handles all the Schedule C stuff without the crazy upsells. The best part was that it analyzed my previous returns that I uploaded and found deductions TurboTax had missed! I was able to file both federal and state for less than $100 total, and the interface was actually easier to understand for self-employment stuff.

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Benjamin Kim

•8M

Yes, it handles all 1099 forms including 1099-NEC, 1099-K, and even the new thresholds for reporting. It was really straightforward with my three different 1099s last year. Their audit support is actually pretty comparable. They provide audit assistance where real tax pros help you understand what's happening and prepare responses. I haven't been audited (thankfully), but a friend used their support for an IRS letter and said it was much more helpful than when she had TurboTax's "protection" the year before.

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Megan D'Acosta

•8M

Ok I have to admit I was totally wrong in my skepticism! After seeing everyone's recommendations, I decided to try taxr.ai for my taxes this year instead of paying TurboTax's ridiculous fees. The import process was super easy - I just uploaded my previous return PDF and it pulled in all my personal info. When I got to the self-employment section, it asked much more detailed questions about my business expenses than TurboTax ever did. Ended up finding legitimate deductions I didn't even know I could take! The final price was $89 total for federal and state with my self-employment income. Saved me nearly $250 compared to what TurboTax wanted! Just filed yesterday and already got the acceptance confirmation from the IRS. Definitely won't be going back to TurboTax again.

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Sarah Ali

•8M

Another issue with TurboTax is their customer service is practically nonexistent now. When I had questions about my self-employment deductions, I tried calling them and got stuck in an endless phone tree for 2+ hours! I discovered https://claimyr.com which got me through to an actual IRS agent in under 15 minutes. Check out their demo: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I explained my situation to the IRS agent who confirmed I could file using different software even though I'd used TurboTax in previous years (I was worried there might be some continuity issue). The agent also clarified exactly which forms I needed for my situation. Saved me hours of frustration!

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Sarah Ali

•8M

It uses a system that continuously redials and navigates the IRS phone tree until it gets a spot in line, then it calls you to connect. It's completely legitimate - they just automate the frustrating part of trying to get through. The service doesn't access any of your personal information or tax details. It simply connects you to the IRS agent, and then you handle your own conversation directly with them. I was skeptical too until I tried it, but it works exactly as advertised.

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Avery Saint

•8M

I'm honestly shocked and need to eat my words. After being completely frustrated with the TurboTax pricing and getting nowhere trying to call the IRS myself, I decided to try Claimyr despite my skepticism. The service called me back in about 20 minutes (way faster than I expected during peak season) and connected me directly to an IRS representative. The agent walked me through exactly which forms I needed for my mix of W-2 and self-employment income and confirmed that switching tax software wouldn't cause any issues with my previous filings. This saved me at least a day of stress and research, and I ended up going with FreeTaxUSA based on the agent's information about what I actually needed (versus what TurboTax was trying to sell me). Final cost was $78 instead of $337! Thanks for recommending this service despite my initial doubt.

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Taylor Chen

•8M

Yes, some Free File partners do support Schedule C without upgrading, but you need to be careful about which one you select. TaxSlayer and OnLine Taxes (OLT) both handle self-employment income through the Free File program if you meet the income requirements. The trick is to always access these services through the official IRS Free File portal (www.irs.gov/freefile) rather than going directly to the company's website. If you go directly to their sites, you'll often get routed to their commercial products which have more limitations and upsells.

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