- 2020 was a strange year for everyone,
there's no doubt about that.
Whether you had to pick up side gigs
or rely on unemployment income or stimulus checks
to see you through the year,
all of those things can really change
and impact your tax filing situation
when you go to file your 2020 tax return.
Now it's clear that there's no one size fits all
tax solution when it comes to finding
an online tax software.
That's why for this year,
we selected 12 different tax categories
and winners for each of those categories
to help you make the right decision
for your tax filing situation.
(light sweeping music)
Hey guys, this is Justine with the College Investor,
investing and personal finance for millennials.
In this video, we are covering the best tax software
that you can get your hands on in 2021.
And we are going to start
with our overall winner, H&R Block.
Now you are going to see H&R Block featured as a winner
or a runner up in a lot of categories that we're going over,
but H&R Block has the most robust offerings,
great price point, and the ability to go in store if needed,
which makes it an overall winner in our books.
Now let's cover the winner of the best free tax software.
Now, the winner in this category is Credit Karma Tax.
Free tax filing is actually somewhat of a unicorn.
Even though there are a ton of companies
that advertise free filing,
there really are some fine print
that you have to read through in order to make sure
you qualify for truly 100% free filing experience,
and you're going to see that with Credit Karma Tax
because your federal and state returns are 100% free,
and it covers a variety of tax filing situations.
Our runner up in this category is H&R Block,
the free edition.
So in their free edition, they actually do include
a variety of different deductions,
including student loan interest and unemployment income.
If you have any of those situations,
H&R Block free edition is the way to go.
Our next category is the best tax software
for maximizing your credits and deductions,
and our winner in this category is Credit Karma Tax.
You're gonna see Credit Karma Tax pop up a lot
in these categories, because it's just a great experience
and you're going to see that no matter what types
of credits and deductions that you may qualify for,
it's gonna keep you in that free version.
Our runner up is TaxHawk.
So despite having to pay about $13 for your state return,
with Tax Hawk, everything else is included
and you're going to see that this is a really great bargain
for filing your taxes online.
our next category is the best tax software
for student loan borrowers, and our winner for this category
is H&R Block the free edition.
I mentioned student loan interest is included
in the free edition of H&R Block,
but watch out if you have any retirement contributions
or HSA contributions you are wanting to claim,
that's going to bump you up into one of their paid versions.
Our runner up in this category is, again, Credit Karma Tax.
Credit Karma Tax is coming in for the win, people.
So don't overlook this system,
it's a really great experience.
The dashboard is awesome, and you're going to see
a lot of free deductions included with Credit Karma Tax.
The best tax software for cryptocurrency traders,
our winner in this category is TurboTax Premier.
So this is a paid version,
but if you are a Coinbase customer,
you can import your forms directly into TurboTax,
which makes it extremely easy and streamlined.
There are calculators in there for you
to help you understand exactly how much tax
you're going to be paying on those things.
Now, the runner up in this category is CryptoTrader.Tax.
This isn't truly a tax software, but if you want to pay $49,
that's going to get you the correct tax form that you need
for your cryptocurrency earnings
and all of those things that go along with it,
so that you can use that form and input it
into just about any tax software that's available right now.
The winner for the best tax software
for stock market investors is H&R Block Premium.
You are going to be able to connect directly
to your brokerage accounts and import those forms
into H&R Block, and they're going to determine
what kind of capital gains tax
that you are going to be paying on your investments,
and the runner-up in this category is TurboTax Premier.
Now both H&R Block and TurboTax are gonna operate
very similarly for stock market investors.
However, TurboTax is a little bit pricier than H&R Block,
which is why it's our runner up.
Now, if you are a landlord, the best tax software
in this category goes to H&R Block Premium.
They make it easy to understand
what appropriate deductions you can take,
and everything's written in plain English.
Our runner up in this category is Tax Hawk Pro Support.
It's not as easy to navigate as H&R Block,
but if you've done this before and you want a bargain deal,
it is cheaper than H&R Block,
and you're able to file those schedule E forms
and get those appropriate deductions.
Okay, if you are a side hustler
and you're picking up side income,
then the best tax software for you is TaxSlayer Classic.
TaxSlayer Classic, extremely robust, great bargain deal.
Now, the runner-ups in this category is Credit Karma Tax,
which is going to give you that truly free experience,
and then our second runner to that is H&R Block Premium.
Now, if you are a small business owner
in which you have a business structure
in depreciating assets, then the winner in this category
is going to be TaxSlayer Self-Employed.
It's hands down the best tax software
for small business owners.
It has plenty of support and little info pop-up bubbles
that are going to navigate and help you understand
exactly what you can claim
and how to input all of your small business information.
The runner up in this category
is TurboTax's Self-Employed package.
The only thing about this though,
while it is really easy to understand,
they did do away with their QuickBooks subscription
that was typically included
in their self-employed packaging.
So because they got rid of it,
we included this as our runner up.
Now, if you're an experienced filer,
you've done this a time or two or 10,
the best tax software for you is going to be TaxHawk.
TaxHawk is our winner in this category
because the only thing that you have to pay for
is that 1295 state return.
Otherwise, if you've done this before,
TaxHawk is a great bargain.
You're going to get in and out very quickly.
Our runner up in this category is, again, Credit Karma Tax.
Now, if you have some complex filing situations,
such as foreign income or a schedule J form
that you are needing to input,
this won't work for you as an option.
But because it's 100% free for your federal
and state return, and it includes a variety of deductions,
this may be the way for you to go.
Our next category is best tax support from the pros.
If you are looking for professional help
while you're filing your taxes online,
then our winner in this category is TaxHawk Pro Support.
For just $25, you will be able to get unlimited phone
and live chat support from a tax expert
that is going to walk you through all of your tax forms.
Our runner up in this category is TaxSlayer Premium.
They have an Ask A Tax Pro feature that you can access
and you can get audit defense support, technical support,
all from a tax expert.
If you are looking for best virtual tax preparation,
then the winner in this category is going to be TurboTax.
You can upload your tax forms
and have a CPA do all of the work for you,
and this is the lowest price that we've seen
for this type of service,
and our runner up in this category is H&R Block.
It's going to be a little bit more expensive
than what TurboTax is offering,
but it's going to be the same deal.
Upload your tax forms
and then have a CPA do all the work for you.
Now, if you are looking for a refund anticipation loan,
then the best tax software for you is going to be H&R Block.
H&R Block provides a loan advance up to $3,500
for your refund,
and our runner up in this category is TurboTax.
TurboTax will offer refund anticipation loans up to $3,000.
Now we don't recommend using these types of loans,
but if you are, and looking for these types of options,
those are going to be your two options,
H&R Block and TurboTax.
All right, so we've covered a lot of different categories
and it's clear, you can see
that there is no one tax software that fits
all different types of tax filing solutions.
You really have to pick and choose what works best for you
and go with that.
Also keep in mind that prices on these different types
of packages and offerings will change throughout tax season,
so it's best to lock in those rates
as quickly as possible and early on
so that you can get the best deal.
If you're still unclear about which tax software to use
or you have one in mind, but you want to learn more,
we have complete reviews and video walkthroughs
of each of these companies at thecollegeinvestor.com.