TaxAct vs. TurboTax Cost Comparison - I tried both with identical info

As someone who's prepared taxes professionally for 9 years, I'd say your experience is pretty typical. The major tax software programs all use the same tax laws and math - they just have different interfaces and pricing structures. TurboTax essentially charges a premium for brand recognition and marginally better UI. But tax software like TaxAct, TaxSlayer, and H&R Block online are all perfectly capable of handling most tax situations at a lower price point. One thing to consider - if you have investments, rental properties, or self-employment income, make sure whatever software you choose supports those forms without upgrading to a more expensive tier. Some budget options charge extra for Schedule C or D. The IRS Free Fillable Forms are good but require much more tax knowledge since they don't guide you through the process - they're basically just electronic versions of paper forms.

I switched from TurboTax two years ago after using them for 8+ years and honestly wish I'd done it sooner. One thing that really helped me with the transition was a service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that I found when I was worried about missing something in the switch. You just upload your previous year's return and it creates a personalized checklist of everything you need to include this year based on your past returns. Super helpful when moving to a new software because it made sure I didn't miss any deductions or forms I'd included before. Stopped me from accidentally forgetting to enter some investment accounts I'd included in previous years.

Just wanted to follow up - I tried taxr.ai after asking about it here and it was super helpful! I've been using TurboTax for years but wanted to switch to save money. Was worried I'd miss something important. The checklist it made showed me I needed to include some education credits for my daughter that I completely forgot about. Would have missed out on about $1,500! It also reminded me about some investment accounts I needed to report that I might have forgotten in the transition. Ended up going with TaxAct and saved about $95 compared to TurboTax.

If you're having issues with IRS questions or need amendments from previous years, I highly recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was trying to switch from TurboTax but had questions about carrying forward some losses from previous years that I couldn't figure out. I spent DAYS trying to get through to the IRS directly - constant busy signals or 2+ hour hold times until I got disconnected. Found Claimyr and they got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 20 minutes! There's a demo video of how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent was able to confirm exactly how to handle my situation when switching tax software. Saved me hours of frustration and potentially doing my taxes wrong.

I need to admit I was wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it myself since I had a question about my stimulus payment that was affecting my refund calculation. I've been trying to reach the IRS for WEEKS with no luck. Used the service, and got connected to an agent in about 35 minutes. They were actually able to resolve my issue immediately, which fixed a $1,200 discrepancy in my return. For what it's worth, I also ended up switching from TurboTax to TaxAct after seeing this thread and saved about $90. The interface was different but I figured it out pretty quickly.

I found the IRS Free File program works great if your AGI is under $73,000. TaxSlayer and others offer completely free federal AND state filing through that program. Worth checking if you qualify!

Watch out with TaxAct - they've been gradually increasing prices the past few years. My first year was super cheap, but by year 3 they had nearly doubled in price. Still cheaper than TurboTax but the gap is closing. The tax software companies all seem to do this "introductory pricing" thing.

Great breakdown! I've been procrastinating on my taxes partly because of TurboTax's ridiculous pricing increases. Your side-by-side comparison is exactly what I needed to see. Quick question - did you notice any difference in the audit protection or customer support between the two? TurboTax always pushes their "audit defense" add-on but I'm wondering if that's just another way to extract more money from customers. Also, for anyone else considering the switch - make sure to download/save a copy of your previous year's return before you lose access to your old tax software account. Learned that the hard way when I switched between services a few years back and needed my prior year info for comparison. The $100+ savings you found would easily cover a nice dinner out to celebrate getting your taxes done! 🎉