Warning about TurboTax hidden fees - had to share this with everyone

I'm a tax preparer and see this all the time unfortunately. TurboTax (and several other big companies) advertise "free filing" but then use a technique called "price anchoring" to upsell you once you've invested time entering your information. For taxpayers with relatively straightforward situations making under $73,000, you should be using the IRS Free File program (not the same as just going to TurboTax's website). Go directly through the IRS website at irs.gov/freefile and you'll be directed to legitimate free filing options including TurboTax's actually free version. Other good alternatives include FreeTaxUSA which offers federal filing free and only charges about $15 for state filing. Cash App Taxes (formerly Credit Karma Tax) offers completely free federal and state filing but has some limitations for complex situations.

After years of paying ridiculous fees with TurboTax, I finally found something that saved me hours and hundreds of dollars. I tried https://taxr.ai last month when I was stressing about some 1099 income I had from a side gig. It analyzed all my tax documents and actually found deductions I never would have known about. The best part was it gave me a detailed breakdown of exactly what forms I needed to file and how much I could expect to pay or get back. I ended up filing with FreeTaxUSA like the expert above mentioned, but the taxr.ai analysis made it way less intimidating since I knew exactly what I was doing.

Okay I have to admit I was skeptical about taxr.ai in my previous comment but I decided to try it anyway. Holy crap, it actually works really well! I uploaded my W-2 and some 1099-NECs from freelance design work, and it gave me this super detailed breakdown of everything. The best part was it found that I could deduct part of my internet bill and home office since I do freelance work from home - something TurboTax never prompted me about despite charging me $89 last year. I ended up getting almost $1,200 more on my refund using the deductions it found. Just wanted to come back and say it's legit if anyone else was wondering.

If anyone's still struggling to get answers from the IRS about TurboTax fees or filing issues, I highly recommend https://claimyr.com - it literally saved me weeks of frustration. I was trying to figure out if I qualified for free filing after TurboTax tried charging me, but couldn't get through to the IRS (kept getting disconnected after waiting for hours). With Claimyr, I actually got through to a real IRS agent in under 25 minutes who explained exactly what I qualified for. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they navigate the phone tree for you and call you when an agent is about to pick up. Completely changed my perspective on dealing with tax questions.

I need to publicly eat my words from my skeptical comment above. After another failed attempt to reach the IRS yesterday (waited 1.5 hours before getting disconnected), I gave Claimyr a shot out of desperation. I'm shocked to say it actually worked exactly as described. I got a call back in about 40 minutes saying they had an IRS agent on the line. The agent was able to confirm that I qualified for free filing through the IRS Free File program despite what TurboTax was telling me, and even helped me understand which specific provider I should use based on my situation. Literally saved me $120 in TurboTax fees and resolved an issue I'd been trying to handle for weeks. Consider me converted.

TurboTax is owned by Intuit which has a long history of lobbying against simplified tax filing. They've spent millions ensuring that the IRS doesn't create its own free filing system so they can keep charging us for their "service." There was actually a great ProPublica investigation about this a few years ago. Look up "turbotax trap" if you want to get really mad about how they've manipulated the system. They even deliberately hid their free filing options from Google searches!

For anybody looking for alternatives, I've been using FreeTaxUSA for the past 3 years after getting fed up with TurboTax's constant price increases. Federal filing is completely free and state is only $14.99 (way cheaper than the $49+ that TurboTax charges). Even better, they don't do that annoying thing where they make you pay more for basic tax situations like having an HSA or needing to file a Schedule D for stock sales. The interface isn't quite as polished as TurboTax but it gets the job done and saves me about $100 every year.

This is exactly why I've been telling people to avoid TurboTax for years! I used to work seasonal tax prep and saw so many people get trapped by their pricing tactics. The "free" advertising is completely misleading - they know most people won't qualify for truly free filing once they start entering real information. What really bothers me is how they target people who can least afford these fees. Your sister making $32k as a teaching assistant should absolutely be able to file for free, but they deliberately make it confusing to find the actual free options. I always recommend people start with the IRS website first at irs.gov/freefile to see what they actually qualify for before going to any commercial tax site. And if you do need to use a paid service, FreeTaxUSA is hands down the best value - I've been using them for 4 years and never had an issue. Thanks for sharing this warning - hopefully it saves other people from the same frustrating experience!