- Welcome to the 2022 Best Tax Software Awards
from The College Investor.
I'm your host, Justine.
And today we have created 14 categories
for tax software in 2022.
And let's be honest,
there were so many different changes in 2021.
I mean, we thought that we would be better off
than we were in 2020,
and some things were still kind of a bummer.
Unemployment claims were still high
and thus affecting how we were filing our taxes,
including things like still receiving stimulus payments
or the administrative forbearance placed on student loans.
And all of those things financially can impact
how you file your taxes and what type of refund, if any,
that you would be getting this year.
So let's go ahead and cover these different categories
for the Best Tax Software Awards ceremony.
This is kind of the first time that we are doing this
type of video,
but I'm really excited about it,
so let's go ahead and jump into our first category.
First, let's talk Best Overall Tax Software.
And the winner in this category,
hands down, is TurboTax.
TurboTax just had the best user experience.
It had the best capabilities and just utility overall.
No matter what your filing situation may be,
TurboTax was able to get the job done
and do it in a very beautiful way,
I might have to add.
Just very well-designed,
even though it comes at a premium price,
it definitely is worth the cost
if you are into doing your own taxes
and you have a bunch of forms.
They just made it really easy.
The runner-up in this category goes to H&R Block.
They also have a premium feel.
Their price is slightly less than TurboTax,
and if you hop into the tax software early,
then you're going to get the deepest discount
with them as well.
Our next category is Best Free Tax Software.
Now, finding truly free tax software
is a bit of a unicorn these days.
Even though it may say free in the name,
you may have to pay additional for things
like state returns,
or if you have additional forms,
you may have to upgrade to a paid tier.
Now, the winner in this category
definitely goes to Cash App Taxes.
This was formerly known as Credit Karma Taxes,
and then changed hands,
they got bought out.
It's still the same software.
There's a couple little changes,
you'll have to check out our complete review
on Cash App Taxes.
But overall, if you are wanting
a truly free filing situation,
that is the winner in this category.
Runner-up is H&R Block.
They actually have a pretty robust free version,
so if you want to claim things like unemployment income,
if you have stimulus payments,
if you have student loan interest deductions
that you want to take,
all of that is included in the free version
for H&R Block.
The next category is Best Tax Software
for Maximizing Credits and Deductions.
Now, historically, you used to have to itemize
your tax return in order to maximize these things.
And now, you really can take that standard deduction
and also go through the tax software prompts.
And we looked for tax software that could really guide you
towards maximizing these credits in tax deductions.
Therefore, the winner in this category is Cash App Taxes.
Cash App Taxes supports most tax situations.
And even if you have a slightly complicated situation
where maybe you have a ton of forms,
they really help guide the tax filer
into figuring out how to maximize
those credits and deductions.
The runner-up in this category goes to FreeTaxUSA.
Even though you have to pay $15 to file your state return,
FreeTaxUSA is the quintessential
bargain tax software out there.
And we found that their dashboard
actually was helping users maximize their credits
and deductions as well.
Even though you had to pay 15 bucks for the state return
is really a bang for your buck.
And that's why the runner-up goes to FreeTaxUSA.
Our next category goes to Best Tax Software
For Student Loan Borrowers.
Even though federal student loan payments and interests
were on pause for 2021,
those of us who still had private student loans,
we're still paying on that interest.
And so we wanted to single out the tax software
that really help people take advantage
of that student loan interest deduction.
And the winner in this category
goes to the free version of TurboTax.
Now, in order to qualify for the free version of TurboTax,
you really had to have a very simple filing situation.
So if you just had a W2
and you wanted to claim that student loan interest form,
and that's it, there you go.
That's it for TurboTax for the free version,
but you have to watch out for any of the gotchas.
If you had dependent care costs,
if you contributed to an IRA,
if you had a health savings account,
any of those things would actually bump you up
into the paid version.
We also had two runner-ups in this category,
and that goes to the free version of H&R Block
and also to Cash App Taxes.
Because those things were also included
in the free version of H&R Block,
and to Cash App Taxes,
because that truly is the only free tax software
available this year.
And you're able to claim that student loan
interest deduction in both cases.
Our next category is Best Tax Software
For Cryptocurrency Traders.
If you have crypto
and you need to claim it on your tax return,
the winner in this category goes to TurboTax Premiere.
So yes, you are going to have to pay
for the TurboTax Premiere version.
It also allows you to import those transactions
and those forms from your crypto trading,
so it makes it really easy to sync that up.
Our runner-up in this category is TaxAct Premiere.
You can actually have your total capital gains
summarized in a single line
by attaching your form into the software.
So it just streamlines things,
it's a little bit of a backdoor process,
but that's why TaxAct Premiere is our runner-up.
Our next category is Best Tax Liability Calculators
For Crypto and NFT Traders.
If this is you, then you'll wanna pay attention
to our winner in this category which is ZenLedger.
ZenLedger actually offers a free support
for up to 25 transactions.
So if you've dabbled in a few crypto
or NFT trades this past year,
then this calculator is really going to help you out.
Our runner-ups go to CryptoTrader.Tax and TaxBit.
CryptoTrader.Tax actually allows
for anywhere between 100 to 1,500 transactions.
And anyone who has struggled to stay on top
of their taxable liabilities
should definitely check out TaxBit.
Our next category is Best Tax Software
For Stock Market Investors.
If you invest in different brokerage accounts,
then you know how much of a pain it is
to gather all of those forms
and then try to upload,
or manually type in those forms
into your tax software.
So the winner in this category goes to H&R Block Premium,
with our runner-up going to TurboTax Premiere.
Now, the reason why we chose H&R Block Premium
is because you can easily import those forms
and link your brokerage accounts
which saves a ton of time.
And given that turbo tax is slightly more.
And in H&R Block,
we felt that the best bang for your buck
if you are an investor and have those 1099 forms
is to go with H&R Block Premium.
our next category is Best Tax Software For Landlords.
If you have rental properties
that you need to input into your tax return,
the winner in this category goes to TaxSlayer Classic.
TaxSlayer continues to improve year over year.
In fact, we can compare it many times
to premium tax software like H&R Block or TurboTax,
but it has a better price.
So it kinda falls in between this premium experience,
but also in this bargain kind of category,
it meets right in the middle.
So if you're truly wanting that value and the experience,
TaxSlayer Classic is perfect
for those who have rental properties.
The runner-up in this category is Cash App Taxes,
because you can claim this
and it file your taxes truly free through Cash App Taxes.
Just be aware if you have multi-state filing situation,
you won't be able to do that with this software.
All right, the next category is Best Tax Software
For Side Hustlers.
So if you started a side gig,
if you were driving, doing rideshare apps,
you definitely have to put that on your tax returns.
So which tax software actually won this category?
It's Cash App Taxes, of course.
You're gonna see Cash App Taxes win
in several different categories
because of the truly great filing experience it provides.
And also, it's free.
So Cash App Taxes makes it really easy for side hustlers
to report their income,
and calculate exactly how much taxes they might have.
And also, report any quarterly tax payments
that you may have made in the past year.
The runner-up in this category goes to TaxSlayer Classic,
because it really fits in between
that bargain software experience,
but also it's a premium experience.
It falls right in the middle.
It really does support side hustlers
without overwhelming them with the way that they guide
the tax filers inside of their software.
All right, the next category
is Best Tax Software for Self-Employed.
So if you're, self-employed truly, full-time,
you're going to wanna take a look at our winner
which is TaxSlayer for Self-Employed.
Tax Slayer continues to really improve its product.
And if you're a self-employed, you know,
that it can be very confusing
with having a schedule C form,
reporting your income, and your expenses.
All of those things, TaxSlayer makes it really simple.
The runner-up to this is TurboTax for Self-Employed.
Now TurboTax definitely is our best overall winner,
and that's because it truly has
the greatest user-experience on the inside,
but you're going to be paying a premium price.
The next category is Best Value For Experienced Filers.
If this is not your first time filing your taxes,
maybe you have just a couple of forms,
or the forms that you do have,
you know exactly what to do with them,
then you'll wanna take a look at our winner
in this category which is Cash App Taxes.
Cash app taxes, because it's free,
because it's a good filing experience, everything.
What I loved about Cash App Taxes
that was different than the rest of the dashboards
that I've seen is that everything
is kind of in this vertical layout
so that you can kinda scroll through one screen,
pick and choose which areas,
they really truly customized the experience for you.
So in the beginning you can say,
"I have a 1098 form,
I have a 1099 form,
and I have a W2 form,
and these are the things that I need to input."
It's going to lead you directly to those forms
rather than wasting your time with questions
that aren't relevant to your situation.
Our runner-up in this category goes to FreeTaxUSA.
Even though FreeTaxUSA really isn't a premium experience,
it gets rid of all the bells and whistles,
and just gives you that plain Jane experience.
It's 15 bucks to file your state return.
But if you've done this before,
it's very easy to get around FreeTaxUSA,
and you could probably justify
that $15 state return expense.
Our next category is Best Tax Support From The Pros.
And the winner goes to TaxHawk Pro Support.
So for 24.99, you can upgrade to this Pro Support feature
within the software.
And it just gives you so many different opportunities
to chat with a specialist.
You can do unlimited phone calls, live chat,
you can even screen share.
So given that this is only 24.99,
and to receive all of that support
is really truly a great deal
and why they are our winner.
Our runner-up in this category is TaxSlayer Premium.
If you go with TaxSlayer Premium,
then you're able to get audit support
and technical support,
in addition to just being able to ask the right questions.
I think this would be truly valuable
if you have a ton of tax forms
or you have a business that you're not sure
how to categorize and import forms correctly,
this would be a great value as well.
The next category is Best Virtual Tax Preparation.
So if you don't wanna leave your house
and you're used to doing that in the past,
and working with the CPA across the desk,
you still want that feature,
then you'll probably be interested
to know that there are tax software out there
where you can literally just send them your forms
and let them file and do all the filing on your behalf.
Now, the winner in this category
goes to TurboTax Full Service,
with our runner-up, going to H&R Block Virtual.
I have a feeling we are going to see this trend continue.
That this is going to be a service
more people gravitate towards,
because we are used to staying at home now.
And with things changing in our environment,
it might just be easier to do everything remotely.
TurboTax offers this Full Service.
You're going to pay a bigger price tag
for this type of treatment,
but wow, wouldn't it be great to know
that you have a tax professional
that has the TurboTax stamp of approval.
You just upload your forms
and then they send you back a prepared tax return
for you to review.
You can do both of those things
either with our winner of TurboTax, the Full Service
or H&R Block Virtual.
And our last category is Best Tax Software
For People Who Are Seeking A Refund Anticipation Loan.
Now, if you are wanting to get a potential tax refund
faster than what the IRS can actually hand out,
there's really only one winner here.
We're not true fans of these types of loans
because many tax software will charge you
a very high interest rate, which we want to avoid.
So the winner here is TurboTax.
And that's mainly because they offer an interest-free
refund loan to tax filers.
Now, you can qualify for up to $3,000 in this refund loan.
There's no fees and then you will actually get paid out
through a debit card.
Just keep in mind,
this is money that you're going to have to pay back.
So if you can wait, that would be your best bet.
Otherwise, the winner here is TurboTax.
So depending on your filing situation,
you may find one of these tax software
is truly the best overall tax software for you,
but there are a ton of different situations
in which you might gravitate
towards one software over another.
We found this year that TaxSlayer and Cash App Taxes
actually replaced H&R Block
in a lot of different categories
because they've improved so much on their software
that they're starting to compete with H&R Block.
And so really, what we're going after
is good experience versus a good price point.
And that's something
you're going to have to weigh out for yourself.
Thanks so much for watching
this year's Tax Software Awards Ceremony.
I hope you enjoyed it.
We really enjoy doing these thorough tax software reviews
so you don't have to.
Be sure to check out
all of those reviews at thecollegeinvestor.com.
(upbeat music)