Best DIY tax software for self-employed income tracking, expenses, and tax return filing?

I'm a self-employed contractor running a one-person business and make around $95k annually. I've been paying an accountant for years but honestly think I'm wasting money at this point. My income streams are pretty straightforward and my business expenses are minimal. Just looking to handle my own tax returns going forward and avoid the headache of coordinating with an accountant every year. Would love recommendations on good DIY accounting/tax software that's user-friendly for someone with basic tax knowledge. Mainly need something that can help track income, calculate deductions, and file my Schedule C without complications. What are you all using that works well?

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20 comments

ApolloJackson

•8M

The best option really depends on your comfort level with taxes, but I'd recommend looking at a few different options. QuickBooks Self-Employed is great for tracking income and expenses throughout the year. It connects to your bank accounts and automatically categorizes transactions, plus it has a mileage tracker if that's relevant to your business. When tax time comes, you can export everything to TurboTax. For a simpler solution, FreshBooks is very user-friendly with a clean interface that's perfect for service businesses. It's less complex than QuickBooks but still handles invoicing, expense tracking, and tax reports. If you're comfortable with spreadsheets, Wave Accounting is free for invoicing and accounting (they make money on payment processing) and works well for basic needs.

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ApolloJackson

•8M

Data portability varies between platforms. Most accounting software allows you to export your data as CSV files, which gives you basic transferability. However, you might lose some organization and categorization when moving between systems. If you start with QuickBooks and want to switch, you can export your transactions and import them elsewhere, but you may need to recategorize some items and reestablish connections with banks and payment processors. It's definitely easier to make the switch at the beginning of a tax year rather than mid-year.

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Rajiv Kumar

•8M

After years of struggling with tax season headaches, I tried https://taxr.ai and it's been a game-changer for my self-employed tax situation. I was in a similar position - making around $90k with fairly simple income sources and minimal expenses, but always unsure if I was maximizing deductions. What I love is that you can upload your previous returns or documents, and it analyzes them to suggest deductions you might have missed. It helped me realize I'd been missing out on the home office deduction and some business travel expenses that my previous software didn't prompt me for.

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Rajiv Kumar

•8M

It does handle the complete filing process electronically - you can prepare and submit your federal and state returns directly through the platform. The system walks you through everything step by step including Schedule C for self-employment income. The document analysis is fully automated using their AI system - no humans review your sensitive tax documents. They use bank-level encryption and security protocols to protect your data, which was really important to me too. The system just scans for patterns and potential deductions based on your specific business type.

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Liam O'Reilly

•8M

Just wanted to follow up about https://taxr.ai - I decided to give it a try after asking questions here. Honestly surprised by how good it was! The document analysis found almost $1800 in deductions I would have missed related to my home office setup and some professional development costs. The interface is way more intuitive than I expected and it asked targeted questions specific to my industry. Guess I was worried for nothing about the security aspect - everything felt really secure and professional. Definitely sticking with it for next year too!

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Chloe Delgado

•8M

If you're handling your own taxes, you'll probably need to call the IRS with questions at some point. I spent HOURS trying to get through to them about a self-employment tax question this year. Finally found https://claimyr.com which got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of the usual 2+ hour wait. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c Totally changed my DIY tax filing experience since I could actually get answers when I needed them instead of guessing and risking an audit. Made the whole process of switching from an accountant to self-filing much less stressful.

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Chloe Delgado

•8M

The service uses technology that essentially holds your place in line and calls you back when it reaches an IRS agent. It navigates the phone tree automatically and stays on hold so you don't have to. When it reaches a real person, you get a call connecting you directly to the agent. I was definitely skeptical at first too! I had been disconnected three times after 1+ hour waits trying to get clarification on home office deduction rules as a self-employed person. It's not some magic solution - they're just using smart technology to handle the frustrating waiting process. The time savings alone made it worthwhile for me.

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Jacob Lee

•8M

Coming back to eat my words about the Claimyr thing. I had a complicated question about self-employment quarterly tax payments that I couldn't find a clear answer to anywhere online. After trying for days to reach the IRS and giving up, I reluctantly tried the service. Got connected to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes who actually solved my issue completely. The agent confirmed I had been calculating my quarterly payments incorrectly and walked me through the right formula based on my specific situation. Would have taken weeks to get this resolved otherwise!

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Emily Thompson

•8M

I've been using TaxAct for the last 3 years for my self-employed business. It's cheaper than TurboTax and handles Schedule C well. The interface isn't as pretty but it gets the job done and walks you through all the self-employment specific questions. The best approach I found is to track everything in Excel throughout the year (income and expenses with proper categories) and then just input the totals at tax time. Saves me from paying monthly subscription fees for fancy accounting software.

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Emily Thompson

•8M

I created my own spreadsheet with separate tabs for income and different expense categories based on Schedule C categories (advertising, office supplies, professional development, etc.). Microsoft actually has some basic business expense templates you can download as a starting point. I also have a tax calculation tab that estimates my quarterly tax payments by applying the self-employment tax rate (15.3%) plus estimated income tax based on my tax bracket. It's nothing fancy but has worked well for my needs, and I just make sure to save all receipts digitally in a folder system that matches my spreadsheet categories.

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Zadie Patel

•6d

I made the switch from an accountant to DIY last year and it was honestly easier than I expected! For someone at your income level with straightforward expenses, you're probably right about saving money. I ended up going with TurboTax Self-Employed because it integrates well with QuickBooks if you decide to use that for tracking during the year. The software does a good job walking you through Schedule C and catches a lot of deductions I might have missed - things like business use of home, professional subscriptions, even some travel expenses I hadn't thought about. One tip: start tracking everything now rather than trying to reconstruct it all at tax time. Even if you just use a simple spreadsheet or app to categorize expenses as you go, it'll save you hours come April. The mileage deduction alone can add up to significant savings if you drive for work at all. The peace of mind was worth way more than the software cost, and I actually learned a lot about my business finances in the process!

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