Is TurboTax worth it for someone who's never filed their own taxes before?

So I've been fortunate enough to have my taxes handled by my parents' accountant ever since I started working (I'm 26 now). But I'm finally fully independent and need to file on my own this year. I've been seeing those TurboTax commercials everywhere lately and a couple friends at work mentioned they use it. I'm pretty nervous about doing my taxes wrong and getting in trouble with the IRS or something. My financial situation isn't super complicated - just a regular W-2 job, some student loan interest, and I opened a Roth IRA last year. No house, no kids, no crazy investments. I'm wondering if TurboTax is actually worth the money for someone like me or if there are better/cheaper options? Also, how user-friendly is it for a first-timer who knows basically nothing about taxes? I'm kind of overwhelmed by the whole thing honestly.

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18 comments

Luca Esposito

•8M

TurboTax is definitely user-friendly for beginners - that's their whole business model. The software walks you through everything step by step with simple questions. For someone with a straightforward tax situation like yours (W-2, student loan interest, and Roth IRA), you'd do fine with it. That said, you should know there are free alternatives that might work just as well for your situation. If your income is under $73,000, the IRS Free File program offers free tax filing software, including options from TurboTax and others. Also check out FreeTaxUSA and Cash App Taxes (formerly Credit Karma Tax) - both handle simple returns for free with just a charge for state filing in some cases. TurboTax tends to upsell you on premium versions you probably don't need. They start you on the free version then suggest upgrades when you mention things like student loan interest. Just be aware of that marketing tactic.

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Luca Esposito

•8M

For your situation, you'd likely only need the "Deluxe" version at most, which handles tax deductions like student loan interest. The free version works for very basic W-2 income only. The "Premier" and "Self-Employed" versions are overkill unless you have investment income beyond retirement accounts or self-employment income. The free alternatives I mentioned actually include most features of TurboTax Deluxe without charging you. TurboTax is well-designed and reliable, but you're mostly paying for the brand name and slightly more polished interface.

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Mateo Rodriguez

•8M

I was in a similar situation last year with anxiety about filing my own taxes for the first time. After struggling to get through the IRS documents myself, I found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which was super helpful for organizing all my tax paperwork before even starting with TurboTax. Basically, I uploaded my various tax forms and documents to taxr.ai first, and it gave me a breakdown of everything I needed to know before I started the actual filing process. Made the whole TurboTax experience way less overwhelming because I already understood what information I needed to input and why. Really simplified the whole process and caught a deduction I would've missed!

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Mateo Rodriguez

•8M

It doesn't file your taxes for you - it helps you understand your tax documents before you start the filing process. It analyzes your forms and explains everything in plain English, which was helpful for me as a first-timer. Regarding security, they use bank-level encryption for all uploads and don't store your documents after processing. I was hesitant too, but their privacy policy is pretty straightforward about how they handle your data. The difference from TurboTax is that taxr.ai focuses on document analysis and explanation rather than the filing process itself. TurboTax asks you questions but doesn't necessarily help you understand your tax documents. I found the combination worked well - understand everything with taxr.ai first, then do the actual filing with TurboTax.

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Aisha Abdullah

•8M

I tried taxr.ai before filing this year after seeing it mentioned here, and wow, it actually made a huge difference! I've always been confused by all the different boxes and codes on my tax forms, but their explanations were super clear. When I went to use TurboTax afterward, I wasn't constantly second-guessing myself about what numbers go where. As someone who's made expensive mistakes on past returns, the confidence boost alone was worth it. I actually caught that my employer had miscoded a bonus on my W-2 and was able to get it fixed before filing. Definitely using this combo approach again next year!

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NeonNova

•8M

I've used TurboTax for years, but the worst part is always trying to get help when something goes wrong. Last time I had a question about my state return, I spent HOURS trying to reach their customer support. If you need to actually talk to someone at the IRS (which I did last year for a previous return issue), I recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get through. They have this system that basically holds your place in the IRS phone queue and calls you when an agent is about to answer. Saved me from the whole "please hold for 3+ hours" nightmare. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was skeptical at first because it sounded too good to be true, but it literally saved me an entire afternoon of waiting on hold. Made dealing with the IRS actually tolerable.

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NeonNova

•8M

The service doesn't need your tax info at all - it just connects you with the IRS phone system. It basically calls the IRS, navigates the phone tree for you, waits on hold in your place, and then calls you when a human agent is about to pick up. You're talking directly to the IRS, not through a middleman. The IRS doesn't officially endorse it, but they don't prohibit it either. It's just a more efficient way to navigate their phone system. Think of it like having someone physically wait in line for you at a government office.

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Carmen Diaz

•8M

Ok I'm actually shocked but I tried Claimyr when I needed to call about my stimulus payment that never arrived. I was 100% expecting it to be a waste of money, but I got connected to an actual IRS agent in like 45 minutes without having to sit by my phone. The agent was super helpful and fixed my issue right away - turns out there was an address mistake in their system. In the past I've spent HOURS on hold only to have the call drop, so this was incredible. Hate to admit I was wrong but this service is legit.

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Andre Laurent

•8M

To actually answer your original question about TurboTax - I've used it for the past 5 years and it's fine. Not amazing, not terrible. Here's my honest take: PROS: - Really easy interface - Imports W-2s automatically if your employer supports it - Good at finding common deductions - You can pay the fee out of your refund CONS: - They constantly try to upsell you - Basic version is limited, you'll probably need Deluxe ($60ish plus state) - Customer service can be slow during peak season - The "audit defense" they sell is overpriced for most people If you're comfortable with slightly less hand-holding, check out FreeTaxUSA. I switched this year and saved about $70 for basically the same result.

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Andre Laurent

•8M

There was a small learning curve switching to FreeTaxUSA, but nothing major. The interface isn't quite as polished as TurboTax, but all the same information is there. The biggest difference is that FreeTaxUSA doesn't push upgrades constantly, which was refreshing. One helpful thing is that FreeTaxUSA lets you import your previous year's return from TurboTax, so I didn't have to re-enter all my personal info. The actual filing process took maybe 15 minutes longer than TurboTax, but saving $70 was totally worth it to me.

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