The Best Tax Software for 2025

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Online tax preparation services can save you a lot of time and frustration compared with filing your taxes on paper. They reflect any tax code modifications from the IRS and help you maximize your refund by finding deductions you might have missed. PCMag has been reviewing tax services for several decades, so you can trust our advice on choosing the best one for your needs, no matter your level of experience. Our Editors' Choice winners for the 2024 tax year are Intuit TurboTax, which provides an exceptional user experience and class-leading support, and FreeTaxUSA, which offers all the help you need to file even complex federal returns for free. Read on for more of our top picks, followed by everything you need to know about filing with DIY tax software.

What's New for the 2024 Tax Year?

2024 was the calm before the storm in terms of tax law changes. Gig workers and other sole proprietors may have already noticed one significant change, though: Anyone who received more than $5,000 through a third-party settlement organization (TPSO), such as PayPal, Stripe, or a credit card company, should have received a Form 1099-K by now (or will soon). If you were a marketplace seller, drove for Uber, or otherwise made money selling goods or services by yourself, the IRS knows about it and requires you to report it on your 2024 income tax return.

That threshold currently is set to go down to $2,500 for the 2025 tax year and to $600 for the 2026 tax year and thereafter. Next year might be a different story. The government is eyeing many changes, including the continuation of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act tax reductions. We will likely have much more to report by the time you need to file your 2025 taxes.

How Can You File Taxes for Free?

Saving money on tax preparation means you get to keep more of your refund. You have a few options for filing your taxes for free.

First, you can go to the IRS Free File page and see if you qualify. This year, there are eight options in the IRS Free File Online program available via a variety of partners, including three we reviewed: FreeTaxUSA, TaxAct, and TaxSlayer. Each has different criteria you must meet to qualify. To file for free, you must start your return at the IRS site, not at the partner’s site.

The IRS (for now) also has a program called that allows you to file directly for free without a third-party app. It supported 12 states for the pilot program (the 2023 tax year): Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. It adds 13 more for the 2024 tax year: Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. To qualify, you must have lived in one of the 25 states in the program and meet a few other requirements.

Direct File helps you prepare and file federal returns only. If you need to file a state return after you complete the federal process, however, it will guide you to a free, state-supported preparation and filing tool.

For the pilot year, Direct File supported a limited number of tax situations: Child Tax Credit, Credit for Other Dependents, and Earned Income Tax Credit. It adds more in 2025, including the Child and Dependent Care Credit, Premium Tax Credit, Credit for the Elderly and the Disabled, and Retirement Savings Contribution Credits.

This method also supports deductions for educator expenses, Health Savings Accounts, and student loan interest for the 2024 tax year. You can, of course, report W-2 income and a few other types like unemployment and interest income, but you can’t itemize. You must take the standard deduction. You can see the whole list of income, deductions, and credits it supports .

Are There Alternatives to Free File and Direct File?

Another way to prepare and file your federal and state returns for free is to use Cash App Taxes (formerly Credit Karma Tax). It supports most IRS forms, but a few tax situations are eligible, such as estate and trust income, foreign earned income, low-income housing credit, and qualified electric vehicle credit.

You can also use FreeTaxUSA, which charges nothing for federal returns and $14.99 for a state return. You can buy enhanced support for an additional $7.99 and the ability to connect with tax pros for $39.99.

Other sites have free options, too, but they usually don't support many forms and schedules. H&R Block is generous with its free offering among the normally paid services. It supports the Child Tax Credit (CTC), student expenses, unemployment income, W-2 income, and more for free. TaxAct allows retirement income, support for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and unemployment, in addition to the CTC and W-2. However, you must still pay $39.99 per state return. TurboTax lets you report the CTC, the EITC, limited interest and dividend income, student loan interest, and W-2 income. With TaxSlayer, you can enter your education expenses in addition to the W-2 and other topics.

What's the Best Tax App for Self-Employment or Side Gigs?

Whether out of desire or necessity, people began to launch small businesses and take on side gigs—think DoorDash, Etsy, and Uber—in great numbers starting in 2020. That trend has continued. According to December 2024 data from the Labor Department, 5.3% of the US workforce has multiple jobs.

That means a lot of taxpayers have had to learn about IRS Schedule C. Where do you turn for help if you are, say, a TikToker who needs to file as an influencer for the first time? Because professional tax preparation can be pricey, online DIY personal tax solutions are often a good option, especially if you don’t have a whole lot of income and expenses to report and are hoping for a refund.

If you’ve never tried an online tax service, there are three reasons this year is a good time to start. First, many changes to US tax laws haven’t made headlines because of more pressing news, which means you might not know about them. Software manufacturers update online tax prep services to reflect any changes to the tax law, so you don’t have to keep track of them all.

Second, preparing and filing online might reduce your tax obligation since these sites dig deep for deductions, hopefully boosting your refund. Online tax services are thorough and guarantee accuracy. Finally, tax website developers continue to offer more ways to connect to tax professionals virtually so they can help you complete and file your return—or even take on the entire task for you.

For more on how your employment situation can affect your taxes, see our article about how taxes differ for independent contractors and employees.

What's the Best Tax Software for Cryptocurrency Transactions?

How do you figure out if you need to report activity related to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies? The short answer is that if you exchanged, mined, received, sold, or used cryptocurrency in the past tax year, you need to report all those activities, whether or not you receive a Form 1099.

TurboTax provides the best support for reporting cryptocurrency transactions, though all sites we tested allow it. TurboTax even has a guide to cryptocurrency and your taxes.

How Does Tax Software Work?

When you prepare your income taxes using paper forms, you spend a lot of time shuttling back and forth between them. You come to a line on form 1040 that requires a supporting form or schedule, so you go there, complete it, and then transfer the number back to the 1040. Sometimes, you need to fill out a worksheet, chase down a document you got in the mail, or double-check your calculations because things just don't look right. You might have to do this many times if your return is complex.

Online tax services work much differently. Once you create an account and fulfill the site's security requirements, you can stop worrying about which forms you need and whether your calculations are correct. You also don't need to worry about how any tax code changes are going to affect your return—and maybe your refund. The software takes care of all that in the background.

When you use a digital tax preparation solution, you're essentially just filling out a lengthy questionnaire. The sites ask questions, and you provide answers by clicking a button, entering information in blank fields, or selecting the correct option from a list. You never have to see an actual IRS form or schedule (though, in some cases, you can if you want to).

If you're familiar with tax forms, you'll probably recognize the path the tax site follows. It goes by the order of the IRS Form 1040. Personal information comes first, and then you move on to income, deductions, credits, health insurance status, and taxes paid. After you exhaust all the relevant topics, the site reviews your return and highlights potential errors or omissions that might affect your refund.

Once you address any concerns, the software transfers your tax data to any state returns you must file. Then, you answer some final questions, check your entire return, and pay the service's fees (if there are any). Finally, you file your return electronically and print or otherwise save a copy for yourself.

Is There More Than One Way to Work Through the 1040?

The step-by-step data entry path tax services take generally works quite well, as long as you work your way through your whole return without a lot of backing up or lurching forward (which some sites don't even allow). Jackson Hewitt, for example, asks whether you prefer to complete your 1040 via its comprehensive interview. This option takes you through the entire process in one long Q&A session. It asks you about every tax topic that might apply.

The other option, and one every online service offers, involves selecting only the tax topics that apply to you. You choose them from a list with options such as income, deductions, credits, and taxes. When you select one, the sites walk you through a mini-interview to get the information they need. Then, they return you to the main list to choose another topic, and you repeat the process until you're done.

The point is, no matter how you choose to proceed, all you have to do is read what's on the screen and follow the instructions. You spend most of your time responding to questions and clicking links to advance to the next screen or using the site-wide navigation tool. These sites are good guides, most of the time.

Do You Need to Read IRS Tax Forms or Instructions?

If you've ever filed a tax return, you know that understanding the IRS's forms and schedules can be challenging, and the official written instructions don't always help. The instructions are so comprehensive it's often hard to find the answer to your exact question. When you do find it, once again, the language can be difficult to decipher.

From their earliest days, personal tax software developers have sought to interpret IRS-speak and make it more understandable to the non-accountant. Some of them have written and revised their content over many years to make it as clear as possible. Services like TaxAct do more. For example, they provide hyperlinks to help windows that further explain a term or phrase. They anticipate questions you might ask and post Q&As on especially thorny topics. They try to ensure you understand the question you face so you give the correct answer and possibly up your refund total.

Which Tax Apps Have the Best Help Tools?

Sometimes, a friendly and understandable user experience isn't enough, so tax websites offer online assistance. Some, including H&R Block, provide context-sensitive explanations in panes attached to the main working area.

In a few cases, guidance isn't available until you click a Help link. And a help link occasionally brings you to a giant database of questions and answers. A few sites might even direct you to official IRS instructions and publications, though they present most technical content in understandable language.

H&R Block and TurboTax provide the best help content overall. They even embed it in the interview process. More help resources show up in the form of straightforward and thorough articles when you search for words or phrases. You run into guidance at practically every turn.

Which Tax Apps Have the Best Professional Help?

What do you do if you can't find answers to your questions on the site? All sites offer at least one of three ways to contact the company's technical support representatives: chat, email, or phone. TaxSlayer offers all three. H&R Block and TurboTax have online communities where you can ask questions and search for existing threads. Pay attention, though, to who is posting responses. Answers from company representatives should be safe, but be sure to verify anything from a non-professional community member.

Technical support representatives can't advise you on points of tax law, but other professionals can. Some tax prep sites offer to connect you to a tax professional via chat, phone, or screen-sharing. Everyone charges extra for this, with two exceptions. H&R Block offers unlimited professional support for free, and TaxSlayer Self-Employed allows you to ask a question of a tax pro by email, but it can take at least one business day to hear back.

Though it costs a lot, you get the most innovative and comprehensive guidance with TurboTax Live. This service connects you with a tax professional who can work with you virtually to either answer your tax questions and review your return or take the whole thing off your hands. They’re available for questions not only during tax season but also year-round. Professional help might increase your chances of a refund.

Can You Use a DIY Tax App If Your Taxes Are Complex?

The personal tax preparation services we review here can complete very complex tax returns. The more forms and schedules you need to complete your return, the more you typically pay. We reviewed the most expensive versions this year—those that provide tax prep tools for the self-employed.

If you're not comfortable completing a complicated tax return but still want to give it a shot, go with H&R Block or TurboTax. H&R Block offers DIY preparation and filing, but if you get partway through and realize you're not sure of some tax issues, you can have an H&R Block tax professional review your return, complete it, share the results with you, and sign and e-file it. Or there's a version of the service where you simply upload your tax documents and let a professional take over. TurboTax has similar services, as mentioned above.

Can You Do Your Taxes From Your Phone?

Many of us are now used to filing our taxes on our PCs, but that’s not the only option. All the tax services we reviewed this year also let you do your taxes on your phone.

It used to be that you could only file a 1040EZ from a mobile device. But the best services now let you handle surprisingly robust returns from a mobile device.

How do tax services handle the transition to smaller devices? Cash App Taxes, H&R Block, TaxSlayer, and TurboTax all have dedicated Android and iOS apps. FreeTaxUSA, Jackson Hewitt, Liberty Tax, and TaxAct offer mobile versions of their websites.

Is Tax Software Safe?

Each of the tax websites we reviewed follows strict security protocols, which we detail in the reviews. They’re at least as safe as online banking sites. Each offers a combination of different security methods. They do things such as:

• Apply industry-standard web encryption technology

• Ask you to answer security questions

• Employ biometric security methods on their smartphone apps

• Monitor the site 24/7 and perform internal checks and external tests

• Notify you of any unusual activity on your account, such as a login from a new device, password change, or payment method update

• Use multi-factor authentication

How Can You Keep Your Tax Data Secure?

Whenever you send sensitive information over a network you don't control, you should take precautions. Since taxes are nothing but sensitive data, you ought to think twice if you're filing from a coffee shop, say, or the airport. We don't recommend you file your taxes from such locations.

Fortunately, protecting your traffic is as simple as using a VPN. The best VPNs create a secure tunnel that encrypts your data, ensuring that anyone who intercepts it sees only gibberish.