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TurboTax Live is an online tax preparation software that helps you do your income taxes from the comfort of your own home. Although the TurboTax brand has been around for over 30 years, they recently added the “Live” feature, allowing you to receive live help online from tax experts. We do our best to make sure you start with the right product to cover your tax situation, but it’s possible that we’ll uncover something along the way that requires you to upgrade your version of TurboTax. For example, if you started in our Free Edition, but we later learn you had investment sales (not covered in Free Edition), we’ll ask you to upgrade to cover your investment sales. Prices for paid products are determined based on the product you use and the time of print or e-file and are subject to change without notice. Special discount offers may not be valid for mobile in-app purchases.

If your tax situation is more complicated than that, you’ll need to use one of the paid editions. I like to start my tax software reviews by discussing the free version of the software since I know that this piece of information is all some of my readers want to know about. As a CPA, I’ve used countless types of tax return preparation software over the years, so I love digging into the details whenever a new edition is released as well as sharing with my readers my take on it.

TurboTax User Experience

I discuss an example of an edition upgrade in the walkthrough below under the Deductions & Credits section. Other taxpayers, however, may not be well-served by, say, upgrading from the Free Edition to the Premium Edition. Really the only slightly annoying part of my TurboTax user experience was the ubiquitous upsells, so I’m going to talk about this up-front to get it out of the way. Overall, I found each section of the TurboTax walkthrough that I detail below very user-friendly and easy-to-understand. You use buttons at the bottom to advance or go back and click a link that’s always in the upper left to go back to the home page and select one of the app’s section Q&As. TurboTax encourages you to provide more thorough documentation along the way than some competing sites, such as Cash App Taxes.

• That said, if you have a relatively straightforward return — or even a moderately complex return — you probably don’t need this level of support to accurately prepare your tax returns.
• The team tested different methods of software-based document hand-off — making it easier, for instance, for a filer to pass along a 1040 EZ to a tax preparer working remotely.
• These amounts would update as I provided more data to the software.
• If your employer, payroll provider, or financial institution is a TurboTax Import Partner, you can import your W-2s and 1099s.
• You can also log in and work on your taxes with the TurboTax mobile app for Android and iOS devices.

Tax return preparer fraud is among the list of common tax scams. I found this article very helpful even though I’ll probably have to use the Premier. This is essentially a chatbox that shows you relevant community answers when you ask it a question. The first option is self-explanatory but may not be the most helpful since you’re just taken to an input screen. Yes, TurboTax is a do-it-yourself tax software, but you aren’t left to the wolves when it comes to technical support. I indicated that I made student loan payments during the year, which triggered on the next screen a button where I could “start” telling TurboTax about the student loan interest I paid during the year.

Track My Refund: Guide to Checking Your IRS Tax Refund Status

In addition, if you qualify for a free federal simple return, your state return will also be free, unless you file with multiple states. As long as you’re comfortable answering questions about your taxes, TurboTax Live should be a good fit. With access to live tax experts, TurboTax Live makes it easy to test the waters of DIY tax preparation – even for those who may have lacked the confidence to try it before. While the traditional version of TurboTax has long been one of the best tax software programs available, it is the “Live” feature that really helps TurboTax Live stand out. Having 24/7 access to tax experts makes the chore of tax preparation a simpler process and gives customers peace of mind that their tax paperwork will be accurate. The first being that TurboTax offers online and desktop versions.

This includes the TaxCaster Calculator, which estimates how much your tax return will be, a W-4 Withholding Calculator and a Tax Bracket Calculator. This highest level of service comes with an understandably hefty pricetag. For a federal returns, Live Full Service users will pay between $209 and $399. If you qualify for a free simple return, your first state return will be free as well.

How to Submit W-2 to IRS Online? Simplified Process and Requirements

The bulk of the page is reserved for the site’s actual data-gathering questions and answers. Two icons (Search and Help) open a pane that slides over from the right and thankfully does not obstruct your view of the current https://turbo-tax.org/ page. Another link opens a page containing information about upgrading to TurboTax Live Assisted Self-Employed. A vertical navigation bar on the left divides the site into My Info, Federal, State, Review, and File.

The main difference between the two is how involved you want to be in filing your own taxes. Here’s a look at the various ways you can find answers and get guidance when filing your return with TurboTax. One of TurboTax’s most notable features is its contextual help in the form of videos, expandable sidebar information, and embedded links throughout that offer tips, explainers, videos and other resources. Help buttons can also connect you to the searchable knowledge base, on-screen help and more. The list price of its software routinely is on the high end of the spectrum, especially when adding the cost of a state return.

Intuit is the global financial technology platform that powers prosperity for the people and communities we serve. With more than 100 million customers worldwide using TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to prosper. We never stop working to find new, innovative ways to make that possible. Please visit us for the latest information about Intuit, our products and services, and find us on social. «The U.S. Latino population has become the largest growth minority group in the nation and there is no doubt of their influence on today’s economy,» said Cathleen Ryan, SVP of Marketing for Intuit TurboTax. You can even start preparing your return using the free version, and if TurboTax recognizes that you’ll need additional forms, it will prompt you to upgrade.

The Latino brand campaign is an extension of the brand’s «Come to TurboTax» advertising campaign for 2023. Our Live offerings taps into Intuit’s AI-driven expert platform that matches filers with an experienced bilingual tax expert to handle their unique tax situation and prepare, sign, and file their taxes for them. No more waiting or wondering, just taxes done right and off the mind. TurboTax online offers four different ways to file your taxes, depending on your unique tax needs.

Yes, if you choose one-way video with your tax expert, you’ll be able to see them on your screen. Yes, if you choose a one-way video with your tax expert, you’ll be able to see them on your screen. You can also check the professional organizations many tax preparers belong to.

The second, third, and fourth questions are rather self-explanatory, so I won’t focus on them. The interest income input screen was very self-explanatory and followed the flow of Form 1099-INT rather well. The next few screens will ask you for your personal information.

Who Should Use TurboTax?

You can also pay an additional fee to move to Full Service and have your tax return prepared for you. Before filing your return, a tax pro will schedule a time to review your return with you. As its name implies, TurboTax Full Service allows you to have a dedicated tax professional do and review your taxes for you. Depending on https://turbo-tax.org/how-do-i-connect-with-a-tax-expert-in-turbotax-liv/ the specifics of your needs, TurboTax will pair you with an appropriate tax expert. Again, your expert will be available for you to talk to during the filing process, as well as for the rest of the year. A live TurboTax product specialist can help you one-on-one, and even draw on your screen to help you get your taxes done.