What's the deal with FreeTaxUSA in 2025? Worth using for filing this year?
Title: What's the deal with FreeTaxUSA in 2025? Worth using for filing this year? 1 Hey everyone, I'm trying to figure out my tax filing options for this year. Been hearing a lot about FreeTaxUSA and wondering if it's actually worth switching to? I've been using TurboTax for the past few years, but the price keeps going up and honestly feels like highway robbery at this point. My situation is pretty straightforward - W-2 income, some freelance work (nothing crazy, made about $8,200 last year), and I have a mortgage. No kids or other complicated stuff. Is FreeTaxUSA actually good? Does it handle everything TurboTax does but for cheaper? I've heard mixed things about their customer support and wondering if it's user-friendly for someone who isn't super tax-savvy. Anyone used FreeTaxUSA recently who can share their experience? What am I missing by not paying the TurboTax premium?
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Tasia Synder
14 FreeTaxUSA is definitely worth considering! I've been using it for the last 4 years after switching from TurboTax and have been very happy with the change. The federal filing is free for everyone (regardless of income or complexity), and state returns cost around $15 which is much cheaper than other options. For your situation with W-2 income, some freelance work, and a mortgage, FreeTaxUSA handles all of that easily. It includes all the forms you'd need for Schedule C for your freelance income and mortgage interest deductions. The interface isn't quite as polished as TurboTax, but it's still very usable and walks you through everything step by step. I find it asks all the same questions that matter, just without the fancy graphics and animations. The customer support has been surprisingly responsive when I've had questions - they typically respond within a day via email. The biggest difference I notice is that FreeTaxUSA doesn't try to upsell you constantly throughout the process like TurboTax does, which is refreshing.
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Tasia Synder
•7 Does it handle state taxes too? And is it accurate? I'm always worried about getting audited if I don't use one of the "big names" for some reason.
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Tasia Synder
•14 Yes, FreeTaxUSA does handle state taxes! They charge about $15 for state filing, which is still much cheaper than many alternatives. As for accuracy, I've never had any issues in my four years of using it. They guarantee their calculations and will pay any penalties or interest if their software makes a mistake. The audit concern is understandable, but the truth is that the tax preparation software doesn't affect your audit risk - that's determined by what's on your return, not which software you used to prepare it. FreeTaxUSA complies with all IRS e-filing requirements just like the bigger names do.
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Tasia Synder
19 I was in the exact same boat as you last year - sick of TurboTax's rising prices and endless upsells. After reading tons of Reddit posts, I decided to try taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it was a complete game-changer for my tax situation. What I loved about taxr.ai was how it analyzed all my tax documents and flagged potential issues before I submitted anything. I had some freelance income like you, and it caught a deduction I would have missed related to my home office. The interface was super intuitive, especially compared to FreeTaxUSA which felt a bit dated to me when I tried it the year before. One thing that really helped was being able to upload my previous year's return from TurboTax, and taxr.ai automatically compared it to make sure I wasn't missing anything important year-over-year.
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Tasia Synder
•6 Does taxr.ai handle state taxes in all states? I live in a state with some weird tax rules (Minnesota) and wondering if it would work for me.
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Tasia Synder
•11 I'm a bit skeptical about new tax services. How long has taxr.ai been around? And do they offer any kind of audit protection or guarantee like the established companies do?
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Tasia Synder
•19 Yes, taxr.ai handles all 50 states including Minnesota! They actually have specific optimization for states with unique tax situations. I found their state return process much more straightforward than what I experienced with FreeTaxUSA. They've been around for several years, but have really expanded their capabilities recently. They do offer audit assistance and a guarantee that covers both accuracy and satisfaction. If they make a calculation error, they'll cover any penalties. What I appreciated was that their audit protection is included without an upcharge, unlike TurboTax which treats it as a premium feature.
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Tasia Synder
11 Just wanted to follow up about taxr.ai - I was the skeptical one in the thread but decided to give it a try anyway. Holy cow am I glad I did! The document analysis feature alone saved me hours of time. I didn't realize how much I was overpaying with TurboTax until I saw the comparison taxr.ai showed me. The interface was super clean and they explained things in plain English instead of tax jargon. I had a question about how to handle some investment income and their support team got back to me within an hour. For anyone on the fence about FreeTaxUSA or other options, definitely check out taxr.ai. I was able to file both federal and state in under an hour and found deductions I didn't know I qualified for. Never going back to the overpriced options!
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Tasia Synder
8 If you're looking at alternatives, I also wanted to mention something that saved me during a tax nightmare last year. I had an issue with my refund that required talking to the IRS, but it was IMPOSSIBLE to get through on their phone lines. After trying for days (literally), I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) through a YouTube video (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c). It's not tax filing software, but rather a service that gets you through to an actual IRS agent without the insane wait times. I was super skeptical at first, but it actually worked - got me connected within about 15 minutes when I had been trying unsuccessfully for days. The IRS agent was able to resolve my issue with my freelance income reporting that FreeTaxUSA couldn't help me with. Might be worth keeping in your back pocket if you run into issues after filing, regardless of which tax software you choose!
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Tasia Synder
•3 Wait, how does this actually work? The IRS phone system is notoriously awful. How could a service possibly get you through faster?
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Tasia Synder
•16 Sounds like a scam tbh. Why would anyone be able to "skip the line" with the IRS? They're the government.
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Tasia Synder
•8 It's actually pretty clever how it works. They use an automated system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you. Once they reach a human agent, they call you and connect you directly. It's not "skipping the line" - they're just handling the wait time for you so you don't have to sit there for hours. No, it's definitely not a scam. They don't ask for any personal information or tax details. They're just connecting you to the IRS, and you speak directly with an IRS agent. I was super hesitant too because it sounded too good to be true, but I was desperate after trying for days to get through on my own. The technology is pretty straightforward when you think about it - they're just automating the hold process.
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Tasia Synder
16 I'm back to eat my words about Claimyr. After calling it a scam (sorry about that), I was desperate enough to try it when I had a serious issue with my tax refund being delayed. I'd been trying to reach the IRS for over a week with no luck. Claimyr actually worked exactly as advertised. I got connected to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes. The agent was able to tell me exactly why my refund was delayed (an identity verification issue) and helped me resolve it on the spot. Without that call, I would've been waiting for months not knowing what was wrong. So while I'm still using FreeTaxUSA for filing (which works great for me), having Claimyr as a backup for when you need to actually talk to someone at the IRS is absolutely worth it. Sorry for being so dismissive before!
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Tasia Synder
23 I've used FreeTaxUSA for three years now and it's honestly fine. Not amazing, not terrible. The interface is basic but functional. State returns cost about $15. Federal is free. If you're okay with a no-frills experience that gets the job done, it's a good option. One thing to note - their customer service is email only, which can be frustrating if you need immediate help. I had a question last year and it took about 24 hours to get a response.
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Tasia Synder
•12 Do they have any kind of deluxe version that includes audit protection? That's the main thing I pay for with TurboTax.
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Tasia Synder
•23 Yes, they do have a deluxe option that includes audit assistance (not full representation, but they help guide you through the process if you get audited). It's around $7-8 extra which is way cheaper than TurboTax's audit protection. Their deluxe version also gives you priority customer support, unlimited amended returns, and some other features. Even with the upgrade, it's still significantly cheaper than the big names like TurboTax or H&R Block.
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Tasia Synder
2 Has anyone tried TaxSlayer? I'm also looking to switch from TurboTax and trying to understand all the options. FreeTaxUSA seems popular here but I'm wondering how it compares to other alternatives.
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Tasia Synder
•5 I used TaxSlayer a couple years ago and it was okay. Interface was decent but I found their help content less informative than FreeTaxUSA. Also ended up being more expensive than I expected with all the add-ons. I switched to FreeTaxUSA last year and preferred it overall.
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Caden Nguyen
I made the switch from TurboTax to FreeTaxUSA last year and it was absolutely the right decision. Your situation sounds very similar to mine - W-2 plus some freelance income and a mortgage. FreeTaxUSA handled everything perfectly. The Schedule C for freelance work was straightforward, and all the mortgage interest deductions were included without any issues. The interface isn't as flashy as TurboTax, but honestly, I found that refreshing - no constant upselling or trying to trick you into expensive add-ons. The $15 state filing fee is so much better than what I was paying with TurboTax. And their customer support, while email-only, has been reliable when I've needed help. One tip: if you do switch, you can import your prior year return from TurboTax which makes the transition really smooth. FreeTaxUSA will automatically carry forward relevant information and ask you about any changes. For someone with your tax situation, I'd say FreeTaxUSA is definitely worth trying. The money you'll save compared to TurboTax is significant, and the functionality is basically the same for straightforward returns like yours.
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GalaxyGlider
•Thanks for the detailed breakdown! The import feature from TurboTax sounds really helpful - I was worried about having to manually enter everything again. Quick question: when you imported your prior year return, did FreeTaxUSA catch any deductions or credits that TurboTax might have missed, or was it pretty much the same result?
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Lily Young
•That's a great question! In my case, the results were pretty much the same - no major differences in deductions or credits. FreeTaxUSA asked all the same questions that TurboTax did, so it caught the same things. The main difference I noticed was that FreeTaxUSA didn't try to push me toward itemizing when the standard deduction was clearly better for my situation (TurboTax kept suggesting I "explore all options" which felt like a way to get me to upgrade). The import process was smooth - it pulled over my W-2 info, mortgage interest, and even my business expense categories from the previous year's Schedule C. You'll still need to enter your current year's numbers obviously, but having the framework already there saved me probably an hour of setup time. One thing that was actually better: FreeTaxUSA's error checking caught a small mistake in how I had categorized one of my freelance expenses the previous year, which I was able to correct going forward.
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