8 Best Tax Software in 2026 (Honest US Picks After Direct File Died)

FreeTaxUSA is the answer to "what should I actually pay for?"... which is almost nothing.

Federal filing is free for every situation. Schedule C self-employment? Free. Rental property? Free. Crypto and 1099-DA? Free. Capital gains, dividends, K-1s? All free. The state return is the only paid piece at $15.99.

Compare that to TurboTax Premium at $139 federal plus ~$69 state for the exact same forms. FreeTaxUSA runs the identical calculations for $15.99 total. The interface is plainer, no slick AI prompts, no celebrity ads, but the math is the same.

The Deluxe upgrade at $7.99 adds priority support, live chat, audit assistance and unlimited amendments. So a typical year is federal free + state $15.99 + Deluxe $7.99 = about $24 total. Pro Support ($64.99) gets you a CPA or EA on a screen-share if your return is genuinely complex. It has won Kiplinger's Readers' Choice award four years running.

The catch: no hand-holding. If you need the software to interview you gently through every line, the plainer interface will feel bare.

Verdict: the best value in US tax filing, full stop. If you know roughly what your return looks like, start here.

Cash App Taxes is the only mainstream tool that is genuinely free for both federal and state.

Federal is $0. State is $0 (one state, filed alongside federal). It even covers Schedule C, Schedule D, Schedule E and crypto, with a max-refund and accuracy guarantee. No premium tier, no upsells. The price really is zero.

The catch, and it is a real one: it only does one state, no multi-state or part-year returns, and its form import is limited (no broad 1099 brokerage import). You must file federal before state. So if you moved states, worked remotely across state lines, or have a pile of brokerage 1099s, this is not your tool.

Verdict: unbeatable on price for a simple single-state return. The moment your return gets complicated, move up to FreeTaxUSA.

TaxSlayer is where self-employed filers who do not want to pay TurboTax prices land.

The Classic tier at $22.95 federal (plus $39.99 state) covers most situations, W-2, investments, deductions. The Self-Employed tier is $52.99, one of the cheapest ways to file a Schedule C return anywhere. Against TurboTax Premium at $139 for the same return, that is real money saved.

The quietly generous bit: active-duty military file federal free on every tier (state is still $39.99). And Premium ($42.99) adds "Ask a Tax Pro" live help for when you get stuck.

The catch: the interface is functional, not fancy, and state filing at $39.99 is on the higher side, so the total creeps up if you file multiple states.

Verdict: the value pick for self-employed filers and a genuine win for active-duty military. Not the prettiest, but the price is right.

TurboTax is the most polished experience in the category. It is also the most expensive, by a wide margin.

The interview-style flow is genuinely the smoothest way to file, and Intuit Assist adds AI help. But pricing is where it hurts: Deluxe is $79 federal (about $69 early-season) plus ~$69 state, and Premium is $139 federal plus ~$69 state for investments and self-employment. Its state fee of ~$69 is the industry high.

Want expert help? "Expert Assist" is pay-when-you-file (entry around $59), and Full Service, where a pro does the whole return, starts near $129 and climbs past $200. For a simple self-employed return with one state, you are looking at $200+ versus FreeTaxUSA's ~$24. There is a Refund Advance loan up to $4,000 at $0 fee, and Audit Defense as a ~$59 add-on.

The catch: upsell prompts at nearly every screen, and it is under an active FTC order over its old "free" advertising. The math is identical to the cheap tools, you are paying purely for the interface.

Verdict: worth it only if the polished experience genuinely reduces your stress and you do not mind paying a big premium for it.

H&R Block is the middle ground, cheaper than TurboTax, with real offices if you get stuck.

Its free online tier is more generous than TurboTax's, covering more forms and situations. Paid tiers run Deluxe ~$35 federal + $37 state (itemizing, HSA), Premium ~$89 (investments, rentals), and Self-Employed ~$85. State filing at $37 is roughly half TurboTax's.

The real differentiator is the in-person backup: start online, and if you hit a wall you can hand off to a human at one of its offices.

The catch: the online experience feels more form-driven and dated than TurboTax, and online-versus-desktop pricing is not made clear upfront. The savings versus TurboTax also shrink at the top self-employed tier.

Verdict: the safe pick if you want a strong free tier and the comfort of an office you can walk into if things go sideways.

TaxAct is the specialist for business owners with pass-through entities.

It handles K-1s and pass-through income more cleanly than most, and its separate TaxAct Business line files partnership (1065) and S-corp (1120-S) returns, which the consumer tools do not. Its $100,000 Accuracy Guarantee is the highest in the industry.

Consumer pricing is mid-range, roughly Deluxe $29.99, Premier $49.99, Self-Employed $69.99 early-season (list prices run noticeably higher toward the deadline), with state add-ons of $39.99 to $64.99. Xpert Assist for live CPA help is about $45.

The catch, and it is the one to watch: the Free tier's federal filing is free, but state costs $54.99 on it (early-season promos run lower). That is more than some rivals' paid Deluxe federal. If your return is simple enough to qualify for Free, you would pay less total at FreeTaxUSA ($15.99) than at TaxAct. Check the state fee before you commit.

Verdict: the pick for partnerships and S-corps. For a simple personal return, its Free tier's state fee makes it worse value than FreeTaxUSA.

Jackson Hewitt Online has one feature nobody else matches: a flat fee that ignores how many states you file.

$25 flat covers federal plus unlimited state returns. Moved during the year? Rental in another state? Remote worker who lived in two states? A side hustle across state lines? Every other tool charges $40 to $65 per extra state. Jackson Hewitt charges zero extra.

For a multi-state filer, that saves real money, filing three states can be $130+ cheaper than TurboTax or H&R Block. It also has ~5,200 physical offices (about 2,600 inside Walmart stores), so you can start online and finish in person at the same company.

The catch: the single flat fee is the whole pitch, the software itself is more basic than the big names, and there is no free tier. Also, the refund-advance loans (up to $3,500) are in-office only, not on the online product.

Verdict: the clear winner if you file more than one state. For a single-state return, the cheaper or free options beat it.

With Direct File gone, IRS Free File is the government's remaining free option, and it picked up the slack.

The rule is simple: 2025 AGI of $89,000 or less, and you pick from eight IRS partner providers (including FreeTaxUSA, TaxSlayer and TaxAct) who must give you free federal filing.

The catch: each partner sets its own eligibility, different income limits, state rules, age limits, so you can qualify at one and not another, and the lookup tool is clunky. For most people under the cap, going straight to FreeTaxUSA (free federal for everyone, not just under $89K) is simpler than navigating the Free File maze.

Verdict: the official, trustworthy free route if you are under the income cap and want to use the government program. Otherwise FreeTaxUSA gets you the same free federal with less friction.