- 1040.com might be a tax software you're considering
to file your 2020 tax return.
It offers a decent service at a decent price,
but nothing really stuck out about this tax software.
In this video, I'm covering a complete review
and walkthrough of the 1040.com tax software
and why you might consider something else
to file your taxes.
(soft tune)
Hey guys, it's Justine with The College Investor,
investing and personal finance for millennials.
So the first thing that you want to know
about 1040.com is whether or not it's free,
and no it's not.
All users will have to pay a flat rate
regardless of their tax filing situation,
for their tax return with 1040.com.
So what's new with 1040.com in 2021?
Well, other than a few minor tweaks to the interface,
I really didn't see much that was worth mentioning here.
Other than when I was going through the tax software
I was having major deja vu,
because it is literally the exact same software technology
as what's used in Liberty Tax.
And that's because Liberty Tax and 1040.com
are owned by the same company.
So I'm not entirely sure why
they don't just combine those two websites,
and create one cohesive software
that may be even better than just two so-so tax softwares.
Okay, let's talk about 1040.com's pricing plans.
So all users are going to pay a flat rate of $25.
And when I was on their website
at 1040.com their homepage,
you can see there is no hiding their pricing
which I really appreciate from a tax software.
It's $25 for everyone and
even if you have multiple state returns,
it's still only $25.
So no hidden fees, no gotchas, no complicated price tiers
and I really appreciate that.
By the way, because Liberty Tax and 1040.com
are literally the exact same thing,
you're going to want to go with the cheaper version
which is this $25 price
if you were choosing between the two.
Okay, so now that you know the pricing,
let's go ahead and jump into the software
and I'll show you how it works.
Okay, this is 1040.com
and we are going to click this blue start filing button
in the upper corner,
fill out all of this stuff right here,
and I will meet you on the other side,
inside of the dashboard.
Okay.
When you get inside 1040.com,
I also want you to check out our video on Liberty Tax.
It is the exact same thing.
So either you are going to pay $25 for this software,
or you're going to be paying close to $80
for this exact same software through Liberty Tax.
So for what that's worth,
I don't know why Liberty Tax and 1040.com
don't just merge together, but there you go,
different markets,
different audiences they're trying to appeal to, I guess
I have no idea.
But you're going to go through and fill out
your personal information first, as always.
Most of this tax software is pretty standard
and pretty much the same thing.
One thing that I noticed inside of the federal tax portion
is that when you are filling out each section,
so if I go to my W2,
I've already input all this information,
so I can see it in one scrollable screen,
and then I can edit things if I need to.
But if I was to add,
let's say a second W2,
it is going to only show me the form in little sections
and then I have to go through each section
by breaking it up into different screens,
which I don't like.
I wish it had the entire W2 page in one single view,
so that I could go through it in its entirety.
I think the only benefit for them setting it up this way
is that it ensures that you don't miss anything,
so that you really are meticulous
in looking at each of the forms.
Also, one thing that I do like about 1040.com
is that you have the option to either be guided
through all the sections.
So they're going to take you line by line
ask you each question,
and it's a little bit more tedious
than if you just did self guided.
And self guided all you have to do is scroll down
and then go through each of these sections
and see what pertains to you.
So if you have interest in dividends forms,
if you have retirement forms or business forms
that you need to input,
you can always go through and click the blue link
and go through the prompts.
Let's say you were a freelancer.
Okay, so I just input that extra form
just to see what that looked like under business.
And then you can see up here at the top
that your federal refund or your state refund
will update based upon the forms that you enter,
or you're going to see the amount that you owe
listed here up at the top as well.
So I do like that these blue buttons here
kind of tell you, okay, either guide me through
or I'm finished with the income section.
You're going to move down to dependants
and then deductions and credits.
So if you've had mortgage interest,
any taxes that you paid here,
you can input that.
And again, I do like how they have everything listed
in one window to show you, okay?
Oh yeah, what's this income earned credit?
And they give you a brief summary
under each section to tell you what it is
so that you can see whether or not
you need to investigate it further.
Also, you will see that 1040.com
is updated with the latest tax law changes,
including reporting health care coverage.
If you've had coverage,
through the health insurance marketplace
and you've received the 1095 A form,
then you would report it here
otherwise you can click, no.
Then you get to the review section of your federal return
before you hit up your state tax section,
and then you can click this.
I'd like to see the forms I've filled out
or search for a form
and then you can see everything in one spot,
which is really nice.
The only thing here is that their help
and their knowledge base is really lacking.
I mean, unless you're going to search for
if you know what you are searching for,
there's really no little bubbles or pop-ups
that really help you figure out what everything is.
And then you have this contact or live chat option here.
So I feel like this was kind of lacking on the inside.
Let's go down to review,
finished with federal,
and then you can go into your state return.
Now your state return is going to copy over
most of your information from your federal return
and then if there are state specific tax forms
that you need to fill out,
such as for California there's the sales and use tax,
and then also reporting
the general healthcare coverage information,
those are going to be different
than what you might have filled out in your federal return
and then you're going to click continue.
And then what I like about this
is that they give you a PDF preview of all of your forms,
so that you can see what will be formally submitted
to the IRS which I really like because,
these are the actual forms
and this is something as soon as you submitted your return
and you actually make this legitimate,
you're going to get a copy of this
so that you can download and keep for your records.
So this is 1040.com in a nutshell.
You have pretty basic bare bones
dashboard and software on the inside,
and it's the exact same stuff
as what you're going to see inside of Liberty Tax.
So if I were you
and you were choosing between the two options,
I'd definitely go with the cheaper one,
and in this case, it's 1040.com.
So 1040.com is a less expensive tax software
but less expensive doesn't always translate
to a better experience.
As you can see, as I was walking through the forms,
I had to do a lot of clicking
just to get through one form
instead of having that single page,
when I first was inputting the information,
that would have been really helpful.
Also this, there really wasn't much to look at,
and I felt like the support and the help system
really wasn't there either.
So I feel like you're better off using something
like a Credit Karma Tax, which is a truly free version.
Or if you want more support in that premium field
then take a look at TaxSlayer.
Now, if you, you're still trying to make a decision
on which tax software to use to file your 2020 tax return,
then be sure to check out all of our complete
reviews and video walkthroughs
at thecollegeinvestor.com.