Free Tax Preparation Software from TaxAct.com

Sounds to good.

yeah, what are the catches?

no catches, they will try to sell you the "upgraded" version of their limited software at every single turn. but if you have a very basic income and such, it'll work just fine.

Ben, THIS IS NOT A DEAL! TaxACT as been doing free Federal software for donkeys' years.

The catches are:
1) Free version = federal only (State costs extra)
2) Free version will not import details from last year's info (big time saving)
3) Free version does not have the extra goodies (Tax Advice, comparison with last year's return, etc.)

Full Federal version costs $12 and full version with State will cost you $20, which is worth it if you value your time at more than a few bucks an hour. I've used the paid version for the last few years without problems.

If you do not file a state return or wish to do it manually, and don't mind spending an hour or two re-entering info each year then the free version should meet your needs quite nicely.

I've used this service for the past three or four years. It's easy to use, it's quick and the cost is low. Your information is saved from the previous year, which is very helpful.

I highly recommend it.

Either my taxes have become more complicated over the last few years or this software has become less helpful. I use to use TaxAct to do my taxes but the last couple of years I kept having an issue that the built-in help (very basic) couldn't answer. This year I just gave up and bought TaxCut. Got in on the TaxCut Federal + State + EFile for $20 deal not too long ago so figured it all comes out about the same as I would have bought the Federal + State with TaxAct again.

I just used this and submitted the e-file last night. It doesn't help explain much, but if you already know what your answers would be it works fine. They do try to sell you the upgrade almost every other page, but its easy to click ignore. E-mail this morning said the IRS accepted my return and my refund should be deposited the 15th. Much faster then mailing anything.

Agreed. I've used it for a few years now and it was fine while things were pretty cut & dry. Now that my situation is a little more complicated I'm not feeling as confident about it.

Of course it would help if the tax code wasn't FUBAR. But then, I suppose tax prep groups and the government like it that way.

I also filed mine using Taxact for the first time. I found it pretty straightforward and even with some Capital Gains, 1099 info, Investment Dividends etc., I got through it in a couple hours. E-filed both returns with the State costing $13.95. They do try to upsell you every couple pages but its easy to ignore. I would use this again.

I'll be trying TaxAct this year. I used TaxCut for years (happily), but the price increase was too much, and some of the customer reviews have been less than stellar.

My friend already made the switch, and she told me TaxAct worked just fine.

TaxAct generally does pretty well in online reviews too. It's usually edged out by the big two, but not always. TaxAct actually came in first on about.com:

http://taxes.about.com/od/taxsoftware/tp/taxsoftware.htm

As for price, I'll get the $20 Ultimate download bundle, which is still a bargain. It includes federal, state, and federal efile. State efile is an additional $8. Compare that to $70 for TaxCut w/ efile (...discounted to $60 on Amazon).

Any more thoughts on tax software for more complicated filings?

I've been using their online version for years, been good to me so far.

Nice freebie for the tax return season

The import feature with TurboTax is a real time-saver, but TT has been increasing in price every year. I think it's about $40 this year for the Deluxe (State incl.) edition.

yeah all the other ones keep going up

is this safe, i mean preparing taxes online???, just looking for advise

Good stuff, i'm gonna give it a try

cool!