Should I file my taxes directly on IRS.gov or use FreeTaxUSA for this tax season?

I've been preparing taxes for friends and family for about 15 years, and I can help clarify this for you. The IRS website (IRS.gov) doesn't actually have its own full tax preparation software - they offer what's called Free File which is a partnership with tax software companies, and they also have Free File Fillable Forms which is basically just digital versions of paper forms without much guidance. FreeTaxUSA is actually a pretty solid option for your situation. It's much more user-friendly than the Free File Fillable Forms and will walk you through everything step by step. With your W-2 and small amount of side income, it should handle everything easily. The federal filing is free and state returns are only about $15. The IRS Direct File program is also new for 2025 but it's only available in certain states and has some limitations on what tax situations it can handle. Worth checking if you're eligible though!

I was in your exact situation last year - sick of TurboTax and their hidden fees! I tried both options and ended up discovering taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which was a game changer. I uploaded my tax documents and it automatically extracted all the info and told me which deductions I was missing. I didn't even realize I could deduct some of my side gig expenses! What I loved was that it analyzed my previous years' returns (I uploaded my TurboTax PDF) and showed me I'd been overpaying for years. It basically did all the hard work of finding numbers and then I just verified everything looked right. Way less stressful than trying to figure out which forms I needed.

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai that the previous commenter mentioned. It was actually super helpful! I was skeptical (as you can see from my question) but decided to try it before starting my taxes this year. It found a home office deduction I qualified for with my side gig that I had no idea about, plus some business expenses I didn't know I could claim. I ended up using the information from taxr.ai and plugging it into FreeTaxUSA which worked perfectly. I'm getting back about $850 more than last year despite making roughly the same income. The combination of these two services made filing way less stressful than previous years when I used TurboTax.

Another option nobody's mentioned - if you're struggling to get through to the IRS to ask questions about which service to use or have issues with your return, check out Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I found them after spending HOURS on hold with the IRS trying to figure out why my return from last year had issues. Their service gets you connected to an actual IRS agent in minutes instead of waiting on hold forever. There's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was about to give up on fixing my previous return issue before filing this year, but Claimyr got me through to someone who sorted everything out in one call. Now I can file this year without wondering if I'm making the same mistake again.

I have to publicly eat my words here. After being completely skeptical about Claimyr in my comment above, I was desperate enough to try it yesterday. I've been trying to reach the IRS for THREE WEEKS about a notice I received. It actually worked exactly as described. Their system waited on hold (about 2 hours) and then called me when an agent was on the line. I spoke with someone who cleared up my issue in minutes. Honestly wish I had known about this sooner and saved myself weeks of frustration. Back to the original question - I've used FreeTaxUSA for 3 years now after switching from TurboTax and it's been great. Much cheaper and does everything I need. I'd recommend that over trying to use the IRS forms directly unless you really know what you're doing with taxes.

I've used FreeTaxUSA for the past 4 years and honestly it's so much better than TurboTax. You mentioned having some side gig income - FreeTaxUSA handles that really well with their Schedule C section. The interface is straightforward and they don't try to upsell you every 5 minutes like TurboTax does! One thing to note - the IRS does have a new Direct File program this year (2025) but it's currently limited to certain states and fairly simple tax situations. Depending on your state and exactly what your side gig entails, you might not qualify for it yet.

Nobody has mentioned Credit Karma Tax (now called Cash App Taxes) which is completely free for federal AND state! I switched from TurboTax 3 years ago and have saved hundreds. It handles W-2s and basic 1099 income no problem. The IRS direct file is only available in 12 states right now for the 2025 filing season as part of their pilot program. Unless you're in Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, or Wyoming, you can't use it yet.

Based on your situation (W-2 plus under $3,000 in side gig income), I'd definitely recommend FreeTaxUSA over filing directly through IRS.gov. The IRS website doesn't actually have comprehensive tax prep software - they mainly offer Free File Fillable Forms which are basically digital versions of paper forms without much guidance. FreeTaxUSA will walk you through everything step-by-step and handle your side gig income properly with Schedule C forms. Federal filing is completely free and it's much more user-friendly than trying to navigate tax forms on your own. Plus, you'll avoid the constant upselling that made you want to ditch TurboTax in the first place. The new IRS Direct File program everyone's talking about is still very limited - only available in 12 pilot states and doesn't handle all tax situations yet. For your second year filing with a straightforward but not completely simple situation, FreeTaxUSA hits that sweet spot of being comprehensive without being overwhelming.