Tax Slayer vs Free Tax USA - Which is Better for Filing 2024 Taxes?
Hey everyone, trying to decide between Tax Slayer and Free Tax USA for filing my taxes this year. I've used TurboTax before but it's getting way too expensive. I'm a pretty basic filer - W2 job, mortgage interest deduction, and some student loan interest. No crazy investments or business stuff. I've heard both Tax Slayer and Free Tax USA are cheaper alternatives but would love to hear from people who've actually used them. How's the interface? Are they reliable? Any hidden fees I should know about? Accuracy is obviously my main concern since I definitely don't want to get audited! Also curious about how they handle state returns. I'm in a state with income tax so need that too. Thanks for any insights!
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Yuki Tanaka
I've used both services for the past few years and can give you some insights! Tax Slayer has a slightly more polished interface that feels more like TurboTax, but Free Tax USA is incredibly straightforward and gets the job done just as well. For your situation (W2, mortgage interest, student loan interest), either one will handle those forms perfectly fine. The biggest difference is pricing: Free Tax USA is truly free for federal returns and only charges about $15 for state returns. Tax Slayer's free version is more limited, and you'll likely need their "Classic" tier ($29.95 + state fee) to handle mortgage interest deductions properly. In terms of accuracy, I've never had issues with either one. They both do the calculations correctly and have review processes to catch common errors. Free Tax USA actually has excellent error checking that I found catches things just as well as the more expensive options. If budget is your main concern, Free Tax USA will save you more money while still handling everything you need. But if you prefer a slightly more polished interface similar to TurboTax, Tax Slayer might feel more comfortable.
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Carmen Diaz
•Thanks for this! Quick question - how are they with customer support if I run into problems? And do either of them charge extra if you need to amend a return later?
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Yuki Tanaka
•Customer support with Free Tax USA has been surprisingly good in my experience - they typically respond to questions within 24 hours by email. I haven't needed Tax Slayer's support much, but they do offer phone support which Free Tax USA doesn't have on their basic tier. For amended returns, Free Tax USA charges about $15 to file an amended federal return, while Tax Slayer includes amendments in their original package price for the year you filed. So that's definitely a point in Tax Slayer's favor if you think you might need to amend.
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Andre Laurent
I was in the same boat last year looking for a TurboTax alternative. I went with Free Tax USA after getting frustrated with Tax Slayer's constant upsells. What saved me was using https://taxr.ai for double-checking everything before submitting. I took screenshots of my tax forms, uploaded them to taxr.ai, and it analyzed everything to make sure Free Tax USA had calculated everything correctly. Gave me peace of mind that I wasn't missing anything by switching from the "big name" tax software.
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AstroAce
•Wait, what exactly does taxr.ai do? Does it actually file your taxes or just check them? I'm confused about how this works with Free Tax USA.
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Zoe Kyriakidou
•That sounds interesting but I'm skeptical about uploading my tax docs to some random website. Is it actually secure? How do they protect your personal info?
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Andre Laurent
•Taxr.ai doesn't file your taxes - it's more like a verification tool. You still file through Free Tax USA (or whatever software you choose), but taxr.ai helps double-check everything to make sure you didn't miss deductions or make mistakes. It's like having a second pair of eyes on your return, but automated. As for security, they use bank-level encryption and don't store your documents after analysis. You can also block out sensitive info like SSN before uploading if you're concerned. I was hesitant at first too, but after researching their security practices I felt comfortable using it.
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Zoe Kyriakidou
Just wanted to follow up - I decided to try taxr.ai last weekend when I was finishing my taxes with Free Tax USA. It actually caught that I qualified for a savers credit I had no idea about! Saved me $400 on my federal return. The analysis took like 5 minutes and showed me exactly what to adjust in Free Tax USA. Honestly wish I'd known about this sooner, could have saved me money last year too.
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Jamal Brown
One thing nobody mentioned yet - if you need to talk to the IRS about anything (like missing forms or refund status), good luck getting through on the phone! After trying for weeks last year, I found https://claimyr.com which got me connected to an IRS agent in under 45 minutes instead of the usual 2+ hour wait or getting disconnected. There's a demo video at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c showing how it works. This was super helpful when I had questions about how to report some income that didn't fit neatly into either Tax Slayer or Free Tax USA's categories.
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Mei Zhang
•How does this even work? The IRS phone system is completely broken, I don't see how any service could get you through faster than anyone else.
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Liam McConnell
•Sounds like BS to me. The IRS treats everyone equally terrible on their phone lines. No way there's some magic service that puts you at the front of the line. I'll believe it when I see it.
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Jamal Brown
•It's not magic - they use technology to navigate the IRS phone tree and wait on hold for you. When they reach a human agent, you get a call back to connect with them. It doesn't put you "ahead" in line - it just handles the waiting part so you don't have to sit by your phone for hours. The service works with other government agencies too, not just for tax stuff. It's basically like having someone wait in a physical line for you, then texting you when it's your turn.
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Liam McConnell
Well I'm eating my words. After posting that skeptical comment I decided to try Claimyr since I've been trying to reach the IRS for 3 days about a letter I got questioning my education credits from last year. The service actually worked exactly as described - I got a call back in about 35 minutes with an actual IRS agent on the line. Spent 10 minutes resolving my issue instead of hours of redial hell. Definitely keeping this in my toolkit for future tax seasons.
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Amara Oluwaseyi
Just my 2 cents - I've used both Tax Slayer and Free Tax USA. For me Free Tax USA wins hands down. The interface isn't as pretty but it's WAY more transparent about what's happening with your taxes. Tax Slayer kept trying to upsell me on stuff I didn't need. One thing to watch out for with Free Tax USA is that if you have HSA contributions, make sure you enter them correctly. The form is a bit confusing and I almost double-counted mine last year which would have messed up my return.
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Amara Oluwaseyi
•Free Tax USA actually does handle crypto transactions, but it's pretty basic. You'll need to know your cost basis and proceeds for each transaction - it won't import anything automatically from exchanges like some of the premium services do. Tax Slayer's crypto support is similar, though their interface for entering multiple transactions is slightly better. If you only have a few transactions, either will work fine. If you have dozens or hundreds of crypto trades, you might want to use a specialized crypto tax service first to generate the totals, then just enter the summary in whichever tax software you choose.
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CosmicCaptain
•Thanks for this! Do either of them handle crypto transactions well? I dabbled a bit last year (lost money of course lol) and heard that can complicate things.
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Amara Oluwaseyi
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Giovanni Rossi
One thing to consider is audit support! I used Free Tax USA last year and got a letter from the IRS questioning some of my deductions. Free Tax USA's help section had exactly what I needed to respond correctly, but they don't provide direct representation if you get audited unless you pay extra for their "Audit Defense" add-on when you file. Not sure about Tax Slayer's audit support, but worth looking into if that's a concern for you!
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Fatima Al-Maktoum
•I can answer about Tax Slayer - their basic package doesn't include audit support either. You have to upgrade to their Premium or Self-Employed tiers to get that (~$45-70 range). Honestly though, for simple returns like what OP described, the chance of a serious audit is pretty low.
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