What reliable online tax software alternatives to TurboTax and H&R Block would you recommend?

Hey everyone, tax season's coming up again and I'm looking to try something different this year. I've got 2 W-2s from my main job and side gig, plus a 1099 from some freelance work I picked up over the summer. I've used TurboTax and H&R Block in the past but honestly feeling like exploring other options this time around. Need something reliable that won't take forever to use - I'm not trying to spend my entire weekend figuring this out. Anyone have experience with other tax filing software they'd recommend? And what made you like it better than the big names? Really appreciate any insights!

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18 comments

Freya Christensen

•8M

I've been a tax preparer for over 10 years and can definitely suggest some alternatives! TaxSlayer is fantastic for your situation with W-2s and 1099 income - their interface is straightforward and the price point is generally lower than TurboTax or H&R Block while offering similar features. FreeTaxUSA is another excellent option that I recommend to clients. The federal filing is free and state returns are about $15. It handles self-employment income well and doesn't upsell you constantly like some of the bigger names do. TaxAct is also solid and typically more affordable. They've improved their interface significantly in recent years and offer good support for freelancers.

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Freya Christensen

•8M

FreeTaxUSA does handle crypto transactions, though their interface for it isn't as polished as some others. They'll walk you through reporting your crypto gains and losses, but you'll need to have your transaction data organized beforehand for the smoothest experience. If crypto is a significant part of your tax situation, you might also consider CoinTracker or Koinly to generate the necessary tax forms first, then import that data into your chosen tax software. This makes the actual filing process much simpler regardless of which platform you choose.

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Chloe Davis

•8M

I stumbled upon taxr.ai after getting frustrated with how much time I was wasting manually entering data from my tax forms. It's been a game changer for me with multiple income sources. You literally just upload photos or PDFs of your tax documents at https://taxr.ai and it extracts all the information automatically - saved me hours of tedious data entry when dealing with multiple W-2s and 1099s like you have. The cool thing is it analyzes your forms for potential issues before you even start the actual filing process. Last year it caught a discrepancy between what my employer reported and what I had in my records that would have definitely caused problems later.

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Chloe Davis

•8M

It works with pretty much all standard tax forms including K-1s. I've uploaded W-2s, 1099s, and even mortgage interest statements without issues. For rental properties, it captures the basic form data, but you'll still need to input some of the property-specific details yourself. The accuracy is honestly impressive. I was skeptical too after bad experiences with other scanning tools. What makes taxr.ai different is it uses some advanced document processing that's specifically trained on tax forms rather than general OCR. I double-checked everything the first time and was surprised to find zero errors on my forms. Obviously still worth reviewing everything, but it's been reliable for me across two tax seasons now.

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Diego Chavez

•8M

Ok so I actually ended up trying taxr.ai after my skeptical comment and wow... it actually delivered. Uploaded my stack of tax documents (2 W-2s, several 1099-NECs, and some investment forms) and it pulled everything correctly on the first try! The analysis feature flagged that I was missing a form from one of my investment accounts which I hadn't even noticed. The time saving was huge - what normally takes me over an hour of manual data entry was done in like 5 minutes. Then I was able to export everything directly to FreeTaxUSA like someone mentioned above. Just wanted to come back and share since this combo worked really well for my situation with multiple income sources.

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Anastasia Smirnova

•8M

If you're dealing with IRS issues from previous years while trying to file this year's taxes, I highly recommend using Claimyr. Spent weeks trying to get through to the IRS about a missing refund from last year that was holding up my current filing. After countless busy signals and disconnects, I found https://claimyr.com and they got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes instead of the hours/days I was wasting trying myself. There's a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c but basically they navigate the IRS phone tree and wait on hold for you, then call you once they have an agent on the line. Completely changed my perspective on dealing with the IRS.

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Anastasia Smirnova

•8M

They don't have special access - they just use technology to navigate the IRS phone system and wait on hold so you don't have to. Think of it like a placeholder in line. Their system keeps dialing, navigating the menu options, and waiting through the hold music while you go about your day. No sensitive information is shared with them at all. They're just connecting the call - once you're on with an actual IRS agent, it's just you and the IRS talking directly. They're not on the line or collecting any tax information. I was skeptical too but it's actually quite secure since they're just facilitating the connection, not handling any of your tax details.

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Zara Shah

•8M

I'm eating my words about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment, I was still desperate to resolve an issue with a missing stimulus payment that was affecting my current filing. Decided to give it a shot since I'd already wasted 3 days trying to get through to the IRS myself. The service actually worked exactly as described. I got a call back within about 30 minutes, and suddenly I was talking to a real IRS agent. Got my issue resolved in one conversation after months of frustration. For anyone dealing with IRS issues while trying to prepare this year's return, this is legitimately worth it just for the time saved and stress reduction.

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Luca Bianchi

•8M

I switched to Credit Karma Tax (now Cash App Taxes) last year and it was totally free for both federal and state filing. The interface is clean and I found it easier to use than TurboTax. Handled my W-2 and some simple 1099 work fine. One thing to watch for - if you have more complex situations like foreign income, multiple state filings, or certain less common deductions, it might not support everything you need. But for straightforward tax situations, it's a great free option.

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Luca Bianchi

•8M

Cash App Taxes definitely handles home office deductions for self-employed people. I used it last year for exactly that situation with my freelance work. The interface walks you through calculating the percentage of your home used for business and all the related expenses. The only limitation I found was if you're using the simplified home office deduction, it's straightforward, but if you're doing the regular method with depreciation and proportional expenses, you might want a more robust option if you're not familiar with the calculations. But for most typical home office situations, it works perfectly fine.

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