What's the best FREE way for an 18-year-old to file taxes for the first time?

Filing taxes for the first time can actually be a great learning opportunity! For a young adult with simple income from just a summer job, there are several excellent free options. The IRS Free File program is perfect for first-time filers. If your son earned less than $73,000 last year (which is likely for a summer job), he qualifies for completely free federal filing through several tax software providers. These guided programs will walk him through the entire process step-by-step. Another great option is the IRS's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. They offer free tax preparation help for people who make under $60,000. Volunteers can guide him through the process while explaining what they're doing, so it's educational too. If he wants the full DIY experience, many tax software programs have free versions for simple returns - TurboTax, H&R Block, TaxAct, and others all offer these. Just be careful about upgrades or state filing fees that might apply.

I was in exactly your son's situation last year! I highly recommend checking out https://taxr.ai - it saved me so much headache when filing for the first time. I was completely confused looking at my W-2 and had no clue what to do with it. Basically, you upload pictures of your tax documents and it explains everything in simple terms. For a first-time filer, it breaks down all the confusing boxes and numbers on the forms and explains what they mean. It actually helped me understand what I was doing instead of just blindly entering numbers into software. The interface is super straightforward and it's perfect for learning how taxes work when you're just starting out. My parents used to just handle everything for me but I wanted to learn too!

OK I feel really dumb now because I was being skeptical about taxr.ai in my earlier comment but I just tried it with my W-2 from my job at the movie theater and it was actually super helpful? It explained all the weird abbreviations and codes that I never understood before. I'm using it alongside TurboTax free version and it's making the whole process make so much more sense. For a first time filer it's actually perfect because now I know what all the numbers actually MEAN instead of just typing them in blindly. Wish I'd known about this last year when I was completely lost doing taxes for the first time!

If your son gets stuck trying to reach the IRS with questions (which happens a lot with first-time filers), I'd suggest trying https://claimyr.com - it's been a game changer for me. You can actually see a demo of how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I spent HOURS on hold trying to get through to the IRS last year about a simple filing status question, and it was beyond frustrating. Claimyr holds your place in the IRS phone queue and calls you back when an agent is available. Saved me literally hours of hold music! For a first-time filer, being able to get actual answers from the IRS directly can be super valuable, especially if they encounter something confusing that the software doesn't explain well.

So I have to admit I was totally wrong about Claimyr in my previous comment. I was super skeptical but after spending 3 HOURS on hold with the IRS yesterday trying to figure out how to handle my dependent status as a student, I got desperate and tried it. It actually worked exactly as advertised. I put in my number, went about my day, and got a call back when an agent was ready to talk. Saved me from losing my mind to that awful hold music! The IRS agent answered my questions about first-time filing status in like 5 minutes once I actually got through. Honestly worth it just for my sanity.

My daughter used Credit Karma Tax (now called Cash App Taxes) last year for her first time filing and it worked great! It's completely free for both federal AND state taxes, which is rare. The interface is really user-friendly too. She found it really educational and felt proud doing it herself. Just make sure your son has his W-2 form from his summer job and his social security number. If he has any specific questions while going through it, the software has pretty good explanations built in.

Has anyone mentioned that if your son made under a certain amount (I think it's around $12,950 for 2025), he might not be REQUIRED to file? But he should probably still file anyway because he'll likely get a refund of any withheld taxes!