I've been using Free Tax USA for the past 4 years and can definitely weigh in on this! For your situation (W-2, bank interest, standard deduction), the free version is absolutely all you need. I have a very similar tax profile and have never once wished I had upgraded to Deluxe. The audit protection feature sounds appealing, but honestly, with such a straightforward return, your audit risk is essentially nonexistent. The IRS focuses their limited audit resources on returns with red flags - like significant business deductions, large charitable contributions, or income inconsistencies. Simple W-2 wage earners with standard deductions just don't trigger their systems. I'd recommend starting with the free version this year. If you run into any issues or feel like you need more hand-holding, you can always upgrade to Deluxe next year. But I'm betting you'll find the free version handles everything perfectly and wonder why you even considered paying extra! The money you save could go toward building your emergency fund instead - probably a better use of those dollars than insurance against an audit that's statistically very unlikely to happen.

I've been in your exact situation and went with the free version - zero regrets! With just W-2 income, bank interest, and standard deduction, you're in the lowest audit risk category possible. The IRS has bigger fish to fry than straightforward returns like yours. The free version handled everything perfectly, and the interface walks you through each step clearly. I actually called their free support once with a question about entering my bank interest correctly, and while I did wait about 20 minutes, they were helpful and knowledgeable. Save your $6.99 and put it toward something more useful. The only scenario where I'd consider Deluxe for your situation is if you're extremely anxious about taxes and the peace of mind is worth the cost to you personally. But from a practical standpoint, you really don't need those premium features. Pro tip: Double-check your entries before submitting and you'll be golden with the free version!

Has anybody here used Credit Karma Tax (now Cash App Taxes) for reporting scholarships? I tried it and got a COMPLETELY different result than both TurboTax and FreeTaxUSA... now I'm even more confused 😭

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now! My son is a sophomore and we've been struggling with this exact issue for two years. What I've learned is that the key is understanding the "coordination" between scholarships and education credits. Here's what helped us figure it out: create a simple spreadsheet with three columns - total scholarships received, qualified education expenses (tuition, fees, required books), and non-qualified expenses (room, board, personal expenses). The tricky part is that you actually have some choice in how to report this! You can elect to treat some scholarship money as taxable income if it results in a better overall tax outcome when combined with education credits. Sometimes paying a little tax on scholarship income is worth it if you can claim a larger American Opportunity Credit. I'd recommend manually calculating both scenarios - treating all possible scholarship money as non-taxable vs. treating some as taxable to maximize your education credits. Whichever gives you the better net result (refund minus any additional tax on scholarships) is usually the way to go. The software programs handle this differently because they make different default assumptions about your preferences. That's why you're seeing such different results!

Has anyone tried using the desktop version of H&R Block? I found the online version terrible for multiple 1098-Ts, but the downloadable software actually has a much clearer interface for adding multiple education institutions.

Just wanted to share another potential solution for folks still having trouble with H&R Block's online version. If you're really stuck and can't get the "Add Another" functionality to work, you can manually combine the information from multiple 1098-Ts on a single entry as a workaround. Here's what I mean: add up the total qualified tuition and fees from both forms, then enter that combined amount. In the "school name" field, you can put something like "Multiple Institutions - See attached documentation" and then attach copies of both 1098-T forms to your return. This isn't the ideal way to do it, but it ensures you don't lose out on any credits you're entitled to. The IRS cares more about the accuracy of the total amounts than whether you entered each school separately in your software. That said, I'd still recommend trying the other solutions mentioned here first (desktop version, review section method, etc.) since those are cleaner approaches.

Just wanted to add my experience as someone who went through this exact situation last year with over 1,200 trades. The wash sale reporting really is as tedious as it sounds, but here are a few things that helped me get through it: First, don't panic about the volume - the IRS is used to seeing returns with hundreds of Form 8949 pages from active traders. What they care about is accuracy, not brevity. Second, I found it helpful to tackle the wash sales in batches. Sort them by ticker symbol first, then work through each stock systematically. This makes it easier to spot patterns and catch errors in the basis adjustments. One thing I wish someone had told me earlier: if you're using TurboTax Premier and it's flagging issues with your 1099-B import, don't try to fix everything at once. Focus on resolving the wash sales first since those must be reported individually anyway. The regular trades can often be batched together even if there are minor discrepancies. Also, consider upgrading to TurboTax's full-service option if the manual review becomes overwhelming. It costs more, but having a tax professional review your work can be worth it when you're dealing with this many transactions. They can also help ensure you're not missing any cross-account wash sales that the software might overlook. The good news is that once you get through this year, you'll have a much better system for tracking and organizing trades going forward!

I went through a very similar situation last year with about 700 trades and roughly 60 wash sales. Here's what I learned that might help streamline your process: The most important thing to understand is that wash sales absolutely cannot be aggregated - each one must be listed individually on Form 8949 with all the details (dates, proceeds, cost basis, adjustment codes). However, your regular trades without adjustments can definitely be summarized. For TurboTax Premier, here's what worked for me: Let it import your 1099-B first, then systematically work through the flagged items. Don't try to fix everything at once. Focus on the wash sales first since those are the most critical to get right. TurboTax will automatically apply the proper adjustment codes and carry the disallowed losses to the replacement shares' basis. One tip that saved me hours: Create a simple tracking spreadsheet outside of TurboTax with columns for ticker symbol, sale date, loss amount, and wash sale status. This helps you keep track of which transactions you've already reviewed and makes it easier to spot any cross-account wash sales that the software might miss. The process is definitely tedious with that many trades, but TurboTax Premier should handle the heavy lifting once you resolve the import issues. The key is being methodical and not rushing through the review process. Better to spend extra time now than deal with IRS questions later!

Wait, I'm confused about the damages part. So if I get $50k for the land and $30k for "damages" are those taxed differently? My city is taking part of my frontage for a sidewalk project and their offer has these two separate amounts.

The key distinction for damages in eminent domain cases is *what* the damages are compensating for. If the $30k is "severance damages" - meaning compensation for how the taking decreases the value of your remaining property - that's typically not immediately taxable. Instead, it reduces your basis in the remaining property. However, if any portion of the damages is for things like: - Lost rental income during construction - Business interruption costs - Temporary relocation expenses - Attorney fees (sometimes) Those portions would likely be taxable income. Make sure your settlement agreement clearly specifies what each payment is for. The IRS looks at the actual purpose of each payment, not just how it's labeled. For a sidewalk project affecting frontage, most damages would probably be severance damages for decreased property value/access, which should reduce your basis rather than create immediate taxable income. Document everything carefully and consider getting the settlement reviewed before signing - the specific language used can make a real difference in tax treatment.