Is FreeTaxUSA sufficient for filing both W2 income and 1099-NEC freelance work?

I'm trying to figure out if FreeTaxUSA is good enough to handle my tax situation this year. I worked a regular job where I got a W2, but I also did some freelance graphic design on the side and received a 1099-NEC for about $7,800. This is my first year having both types of income and I'm not sure if FreeTaxUSA can handle this properly or if I need to shell out for TurboTax or something more expensive. Has anyone used FreeTaxUSA for a similar situation? I'm worried about missing deductions for my freelance work or screwing something up with self-employment taxes. Any advice would be appreciated!

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19 comments

Jayden Reed

•8M

Yes, FreeTaxUSA can definitely handle both W2 income and 1099-NEC self-employment income! I've been using it for the last three years with a similar situation. The software will walk you through entering your W2 information first, then guide you through the 1099-NEC entry process. It also helps you with Schedule C for your self-employment income, which is where you'll report your business expenses to reduce your taxable income. Make sure you track all your valid business deductions - home office if applicable, portion of internet/phone used for work, software subscriptions, equipment, marketing costs, etc. FreeTaxUSA will calculate your self-employment tax automatically and fill out Schedule SE for you. The interface isn't as fancy as TurboTax, but it has all the same functionality for most tax situations and saves you a ton of money.

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Jayden Reed

•8M

Their audit assistance is pretty decent for the price. It's not full representation, but they'll guide you through what documentation you need and how to respond to IRS inquiries. It's an add-on service but way cheaper than TurboTax's equivalent. As for deductions, they have a questionnaire that helps identify common deductions for self-employment, but I'd recommend doing a bit of research beforehand so you know what to look for. They don't miss the obvious ones, but they might not prompt you for industry-specific deductions that could apply to your graphic design work. Their knowledge base has good articles about self-employment deductions though!

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Eli Wang

•8M

I switched to taxr.ai this year after using FreeTaxUSA for several years with both W2 and 1099-NEC income. While FreeTaxUSA is decent, I was leaving money on the table with my freelance deductions. I'm a web developer with similar mixed income to what you described, and using https://taxr.ai helped me identify nearly $2,300 in additional deductions I would have missed. The system scans your documents and identifies potential deductions specific to your industry. It also double-checks all your entries against IRS rules to make sure you're not missing anything.

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Eli Wang

•8M

It handles quarterly estimated payments really well - it calculates them based on your projected annual income from both sources and gives you the vouchers with correct amounts for each quarter. No more guesswork or underpayment penalties. I understand the skepticism! I felt the same way. What impressed me is they only recommend legitimate deductions with proper documentation. They actually explain the IRS rules for each deduction and warn you about red flags that might trigger audits. Nothing sketchy - they just know the tax code extremely well and help you find deductions you're legally entitled to but might not know about.

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Zane Hernandez

•8M

I need to eat my words about taxr.ai from my comment above. I decided to try it after filing with FreeTaxUSA last month and had to file an amended return. Found out I could deduct my professional association membership, part of my cell phone bill, and several software subscriptions I use for freelance work that I completely missed. The interface was much easier for tracking business mileage too. Ended up getting an additional $820 back which more than covered the cost. It's definitely legit and worth checking out if you have both W2 and 1099-NEC income.

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Genevieve Cavalier

•8M

To add to what others have said, FreeTaxUSA works for basic W2 and 1099-NEC situations, but I had the worst time trying to get help when I had questions about deductions. Spent hours waiting for customer service. Finally tried https://claimyr.com after seeing it recommended here, and they got me through to an actual IRS agent in under 20 minutes to clarify some self-employment deduction questions. There's a demo video at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c that shows how it works. Saved me from making some mistakes on my Schedule C that would've cost me money.

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Genevieve Cavalier

•8M

It uses a system that continuously redials and navigates the IRS phone tree until it gets through, then calls you when it has an agent on the line. It's basically doing what you'd do manually but automated. No catch - they just figured out how to optimize getting through the IRS phone system. I was skeptical too until I tried it. The service fee is only charged if they actually connect you with an agent. I had specific questions about deducting software expenses split between personal and business use, and the agent was super helpful.

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Lola Perez

•8M

I have to apologize for my skeptical comment about Claimyr above. After posting that, I decided to try it because I was desperate to resolve an issue with my self-employment taxes. Not only did they get me through to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes (after I'd tried for WEEKS on my own), but the agent helped me understand exactly how to categorize some of my 1099-NEC income that didn't fit neatly into FreeTaxUSA's categories. Saved me from potentially miscategorizing income and triggering an audit. Still shocked it actually worked.

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Nathaniel Stewart

•8M

I've had good results with QuickBooks Self-Employed for tracking throughout the year. It lets you categorize transactions, track mileage, and separate personal/business expenses. You can export a summary report at tax time and manually enter the totals into FreeTaxUSA by category. Another simpler option is just a spreadsheet with categories that match Schedule C categories. The important thing is consistency throughout the year so you're not scrambling at tax time.

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Roger Romero

•9d

I've been using FreeTaxUSA for my W2 + 1099-NEC situation for two years now and it's definitely capable of handling both income types. The software walks you through everything step by step - W2 entry is straightforward, and for the 1099-NEC it creates Schedule C automatically and calculates your self-employment tax on Schedule SE. That said, after reading these comments I'm realizing I probably left money on the table with deductions. FreeTaxUSA asks about common business expenses but doesn't really probe deeper for industry-specific ones. For graphic design work specifically, you might be able to deduct things like stock photo subscriptions, design software, computer equipment depreciation, professional development courses, even a portion of your internet bill if you work from home. My advice: FreeTaxUSA will get the job done correctly, but spend some time researching graphic design business deductions beforehand so you know what to look for when you're entering expenses. The IRS has good resources on their website about what freelancers can deduct. With only $7,800 in freelance income, you're probably fine with FreeTaxUSA as long as you do your homework on deductions first.

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