What's the most efficient way to prepare taxes for multiple family members?

Thanks for these suggestions! Do these options let me work on multiple returns simultaneously? That would be a huge time-saver. Also, how's the ease of transferring info from previous years if they used TurboTax before?

You won't be able to work on multiple returns simultaneously in the true sense, but you can have multiple browser tabs open with different accounts logged in. This lets you quickly switch between returns without the lengthy log-in/log-out process. For transferring previous year information, FreeTaxUSA and TaxHawk can import PDF copies of prior year returns from major tax software including TurboTax. The import isn't always perfect, but it usually pulls in the basics like personal information, which saves some time. Just make sure you have PDF copies of last year's returns handy before you start.

This sounds interesting! How accurate is the document scanning? I tried something similar a few years ago and it made so many mistakes I ended up doing everything manually anyway.

I'm curious about privacy. Are you comfortable uploading your family's sensitive financial docs to some AI service? Not being judgy, genuinely wondering how secure this is compared to traditional software.

The document scanning is surprisingly accurate - way better than what I tried in 2023. It even handled my dad's messy handwritten 1099-MISC correctly. There were a few fields I had to correct, but probably 90-95% was spot on. Saved hours of manual entry. Regarding privacy, I had the same concern initially. They use bank-level encryption and don't store the actual documents after processing. Plus the data isn't used for training their AI. I felt comfortable enough after reading their security details, but I get the hesitation. For me, the time savings was worth it, especially since regular tax software also stores your data online these days anyway.

How exactly does this work? Do they have some special connection to the IRS or something? Seems too good to be true considering how impossible it is to get through.

This sounds sketchy. There's no way someone can magically get through the IRS phone system when millions of people are calling. I'll stick to calling myself and being on hold for 3 hours like everyone else.

They don't have any special connection to the IRS. They use a system that continuously redials and navigates the IRS phone tree for you. It's basically doing what you'd do manually, but automated. When they finally get through the queue and an agent is about to pick up, their system calls your phone and connects you directly to that spot in line. I was absolutely skeptical too at first. I figured it was either a scam or wouldn't work. But after my fifth 2-hour hold time that disconnected, I was desperate enough to try. I was genuinely shocked when they called me back with an agent ready. Definitely understand the hesitation - I felt the same way!

Did they require you to have any credentials for this arrangement? And did they limit what forms you could file using their software?

No credentials required! The tax office registered the returns under their EFIN, but I did all the work. They just did a quick review before submission. As for limitations, I had access to all federal and state forms - the only restriction was I couldn't file business returns (1120, 1120S, 1065) but could do Schedule C for sole proprietorships. It was perfect for family returns which were mostly W-2s, some 1099s, and basic investment income.

I tried the shared folder method but had issues with older family members not scanning things properly or uploading the wrong docs. How did you handle the technologically challenged relatives?

@Pedro Sawyer I ran into the same issue initially! What worked for me was creating a simple one-page instruction sheet with screenshots showing exactly how to scan and upload documents. I also set up a practice "folder where" they could test uploading a random document first. For the really tech-challenged relatives, I found it easier to either visit them once to collect all their documents in person, or have them mail me physical copies that I could scan myself. The time saved from not having to sit through each return individually still made it worthwhile, even with some extra document collection effort upfront. The key was being flexible - some family members used the digital method, others I just collected docs from the old-fashioned way. As long as I had all the paperwork centralized, I could still knock out all the returns efficiently in one session.