FreeTaxUSA exists to provide an affordable, fast, and easy alternative to expensive tax software, specifically by offering 100% free federal tax filing for all taxpayers, regardless of income or complexity. It exists to challenge the high fees of industry competitors by providing, accurate, high-quality tax filing with, for-fee, optional state filing and, upgrades.
If it's free, how do you make money? We make money from our state tax return and other optional services.
TaxHawk, Inc. is the sole owner of the information collected on www.FreeTaxUSA.com.
We make money from our state tax return and other optional services. All pricing and payment options.
We do not collect or sell data from the information on your tax return. That information is always kept confidential between you and the IRS.
Choose TurboTax if you are willing to pay to file your taxes or want as much support as possible. It's the best service we've tested overall and makes the tax filing process as intuitive as possible. Pick FreeTaxUSA if you are self-employed and on a tight budget since its guidance very well might be sufficient.
Yes. To pay for our fees with your refund, you'll have to select to receive your refund via direct deposit. You can't select to receive by paper check in the mail. If you don't have a bank account or don't want your refund sent to your bank account, you can select our prepaid debit card option.
All major tax situations are supported for free
FreeTaxUSA supports over 350 credits and deductions. Our free federal service includes basic, premium, and self-employed tax forms.
While you can get guidance on your federal and state taxes, you'll still need to prepare and submit your return on your own. FreeTaxUSA doesn't give you the option to have a tax pro file or sign your tax return.
FreeTaxUSA is a great company that makes tax filing easy and affordable. There is basically no advantage with going with a bigger name like TurboTax or H&R Block when every premium feature is included for both federal and state filing at a much more reasonable price point. Support was great as well.
TaxHawk, Inc., owner of FreeTaxUSA.com, was founded in 2001 and is an authorized IRS e-file provider. Their online tax software is designed for self-prepared tax returns.
The biggest tax mistakes people make include filing late, math errors, incorrect personal info (like Social Security numbers), forgetting deductions/credits (like EITC), misreporting income, not signing forms, and making errors with bank details for direct deposit, all leading to delays, penalties, or missed savings, with using tax software or professionals helping avoid these common pitfalls.
The FTC said that TurboTax's “file FREE” claims misled people because most people didn't qualify for “$0 to file.” Except they only found that out well after they spent a lot of time putting all their info into the system. As a result, the FTC ordered Intuit to stop making false “free” claims.
There is no income limit on FreeTaxUSA. See the IRS FreeFile program for limits, not FreeTaxUSA.
The IRS 7-year rule primarily applies to keeping records for claiming a deduction for bad debts or losses from worthless securities, allowing a longer period to file for a credit or refund, but it's not a universal audit limit; it's often a recommended safe buffer for general record-keeping, with the standard IRS audit period usually being 3 years, extending to 6 years for substantial income omission (over 25%) or foreign income issues, and indefinitely for fraud.
Tax evasion in violation of Section 7201 of Title 26 of the United States Code is a serious criminal offense. The maximum punishment for a defendant convicted under 26 U.S.C. § 7201 is five years in federal prison, a $100,000 fine, or both.