OneClickLife platform taking most of my tax refund - a warning

So I decided to try using OneClickLife for my 2024 tax return this year after seeing some ads online. Big mistake. After I finished entering all my information, they showed me an estimated refund of $50. Fifty dollars! I've done my taxes before and know what my refund should be roughly based on my income and deductions. This was about $1000 short of what I should be getting back. I double checked all my numbers and everything was entered correctly. It seems like they're just pocketing most of my refund money! I immediately closed my account with them and will be using a different service. Just wanted to warn everyone to be careful and maybe look elsewhere for tax preparation. Has anyone else had a similar experience with them?

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19 comments

Zainab Ahmed

•8M

Tax professional here. What you're describing sounds concerning. Most legitimate tax preparation services charge a flat fee or percentage that's clearly disclosed upfront. They shouldn't be "taking" money from your refund without explanation. A few things to consider: Did you check if they had a service fee disclosed somewhere in their terms? Some online platforms charge convenience fees that can be surprisingly high. Also, did you compare the actual tax calculation details between OneClickLife and your previous returns? Sometimes the difference could be due to tax law changes, different deductions being applied, or credits you qualified for previously but not this year. If you believe they're genuinely misappropriating funds, I'd recommend filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and potentially the IRS. The IRS has an office that handles complaints about tax preparers.

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Zainab Ahmed

•8M

You can verify legitimacy by checking if they have a PTIN (Preparer Tax Identification Number) which all paid preparers must have. The IRS also has a directory of credentialed preparers you can search. You can also look up reviews and BBB ratings. For tax prep fees, they vary widely based on complexity. Simple returns might cost $50-150, while returns with multiple schedules, self-employment, or investment income can range from $200-500+. Anything taking a large percentage of your refund without clear disclosure is definitely suspicious.

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Yara Abboud

•8M

I had a similar frustrating experience with tax paperwork, but found an amazing solution with https://taxr.ai - it literally saved me from making a huge mistake. I was about to file with a service that was giving me a much smaller refund than I expected (like your situation). On a whim, I uploaded my W-2s and last year's return to taxr.ai and it immediately spotted several deductions the other service missed. The AI analyzed my documents and pointed out that the other service hadn't properly accounted for my education credits and some business expenses. It doesn't actually file your taxes - it just reviews your documents and gives you a detailed breakdown of what you should be eligible for, so you can make sure whatever service you use is giving you the right numbers.

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Yara Abboud

•8M

For self-employed situations, it's actually even more helpful because it can scan through all your receipts and expenses to identify potential deductions you might miss. It's especially good at finding industry-specific deductions based on the business category you select. I had the same concern about security initially. They use bank-level encryption and don't store your documents after analysis. Plus they're SOC 2 compliant which is the security standard for handling financial data. I was nervous at first but honestly felt it was worth it after seeing how much money I was about to leave on the table.

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PixelPioneer

•8M

Just wanted to update after trying the taxr.ai site mentioned above. I was seriously skeptical but decided to give it a shot since I was having similar issues with my tax service underestimating my refund. Uploaded my docs and WOW - it found over $1,200 in additional deductions I was eligible for that my previous service missed! Most were related to my home office and some professional development courses I took last year. The analysis was super detailed and even cited the specific tax codes so I could verify everything. I ended up switching to a different tax service and using the taxr.ai report as a guide to make sure everything was included correctly. Just got my actual refund deposited yesterday - $1,458 more than what OneClickLife quoted me!

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Paolo Rizzo

•8M

If you're still having issues getting your proper refund amount, you might need to talk directly with the IRS to sort it out. I used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) when I had a similar problem last year and needed to speak with an actual IRS agent. Instead of waiting on hold for 3+ hours like I did the first time I tried calling the IRS, Claimyr got me connected to an agent in under 20 minutes. They basically wait on hold for you and call you back when an agent is available. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I spoke with was super helpful and explained exactly what was going on with my return and confirmed I was entitled to the full refund amount. They also put a note on my account about the issue I was having with the tax prep service.

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Paolo Rizzo

•8M

They don't bypass any verification steps - they just handle the hold time for you. When an IRS agent picks up, you get a call and are connected directly to the agent. You still handle all the identity verification yourself and speak directly with the IRS. It's just eliminating those hours of waiting on hold. The IRS phone system is definitely frustrating, but the service actually does work. They use an automated system to navigate the phone tree and wait in the queue, something most people don't have time for. I was super skeptical too, but when I was desperate to get my tax situation resolved before the deadline, I decided to try it and was genuinely surprised it worked as advertised.

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Oliver Fischer

•8M

I need to eat my words and apologize to the person who recommended Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment yesterday, I was still struggling with my tax refund issue and getting desperate. Decided I had nothing to lose and tried the service. It actually worked exactly as described. I got a call back in about 45 minutes (was told wait times were higher than normal), and was connected directly to an IRS agent. I explained my situation with OneClickLife and they confirmed I was right to be suspicious - my expected refund based on my filing details should have been much higher. The agent helped me understand exactly what I was entitled to and suggested filing on my own through the IRS Free File program instead. Just submitted my return and I'm getting $970 more than what OneClickLife quoted. Still can't believe I got through to a human at the IRS without losing my mind on hold!

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