Overview
Online tax preparation services and their mobile applications and websites have transformed how individuals in the United States file their income tax returns. Instead of filling out a few forms and schedules on paper from the IRS, you are now more likely to turn to specialized services and programs that have simplified and streamlined the process.
Mobile Tax Applications
In the early days of electronic filing, you had to own a full-sized computer or laptop, but now you can prepare and file your returns entirely from your phone or tablet, even if your tax situation is complex. You can also use mobile tax applications and mobile websites to check the status of your refund after filing. If you’ve felt lost using a tax app in the past, you might consider giving it another shot this year. They continue to improve, and if you follow our tips to get the most out of your tax application, you might be surprised at how easy it is. Tax applications can help you get the largest possible refund. Since these apps are comprehensive and encourage accuracy, they can also help you avoid an audit by the IRS.
Best Contextual Help App
H&R Block is a well-known name in households with a mobile app for both Android and iPhone. The H&R Block Tax Prep app allows you to prepare and file your return. If you’re new to H&R Block, you can create an account from the app as well. The H&R Block app features user-friendly interfaces and comprehensive topic coverage along with contextual help.
Best Investment Transaction Tracking App
For many years, TurboTax has received the PCMag Editors ‘Choice award because it makes the personal tax preparation process more understandable and accessible than any other competitor. The TurboTax mobile app is available for both iPhone and Android. It has the same tax topics available in the browser-based version, so you can prepare and file a complex return even from your phone. You can chat with the interactive TurboTax Assistant and click links within the Q&A section for answers to your questions.
Best Overall Final Review App
TaxAct is another DIY personal tax preparation solution that has been around for decades and is known for its simplicity. TaxAct has revamped its mobile app for both Android and iOS this year so that when you first launch it, you’ll receive a welcome text chat guiding you through the setup process. It’s a user-friendly application.
Best Free Filing App Overall
Cash App Taxes, previously known as Credit Karma Tax, is the only service we tested that costs not a single cent for comprehensive preparation and filing. It supports all major tax forms and schedules as well as most secondary tax forms and schedules. Cash App Taxes has excellent mobile apps designed with a mobile-first approach. The best way to access Cash App Taxes on mobile is to open the Cash App (which is a separate app) and click on “File Taxes for Free” in the finance tab. Everything is very straightforward.
Best Free App for Federal Tax Filing
FreeTaxUSA is the best site for free federal tax preparation – state filings cost $14.99 each. The help system and associated tools are unexpected and unusual for a free product. FreeTaxUSA now offers a paid option to connect directly with a tax professional (a flat fee of $34.99). Although there are no mobile apps, FreeTaxUSA does have a mobile site that you can use to prepare and file taxes. The mobile site is responsive and features excellent design.
Best
A Conscious Tax Budgeting App
The TaxSlayer app for Android and iOS is comprehensive. You can do everything on the app that you can do on the browser-based version. All forms and schedules are supported, so you can complete a complicated return even on your phone, including all topics related to self-employment. The only downside is that mobile apps are less flexible when it comes to finding and using helpful resources.
Best App for Jackson Hewitt Customers
Jackson Hewitt is best known for in-person tax filing at over 5,500 locations, 3,000 of which are in Walmart stores. Instead of having dedicated mobile apps, Jackson Hewitt has a mobile site that functions effectively. In our testing, the mobile site was more enjoyable to use than the desktop version.
Best App for Liberty Tax Customers
Liberty Tax is an online tax preparation service known as a traditional tax preparation company. It does not offer a standalone tax filing app but has a mobile site, so you can complete and file your return in the browser on your phone or tablet. The mobile site provides access to all the features included in the desktop version, except for the actual total of tax refunds or your commitments.
How to Test Tax Apps
This year, we reviewed eight personal tax preparation services and their accompanying mobile versions. Some mobile versions are dedicated apps for Android and iOS, while others are mobile versions of service websites that you can access from any mobile browser.
How Much Does It Cost to File Taxes on Your Phone?
Most companies behind these apps offer multiple levels of service. The price of these tax solutions increases as they provide support for more forms and schedules and enhance helper tools. You will pay the same amount whether you access the service via desktop or a dedicated mobile app. And you don’t have to pay until you’re ready to file your return, so you can experiment with different sites without a financial commitment.
What Is the Best Free Tax App?
If your financial situation is simple enough to file a 1040 form and a few other forms and schedules, many of these services – like TurboTax, H&R Block, and TaxSlayer – offer free versions that you can use to file your federal and state tax returns. The only app that is free for federal and state filing regardless of how simple or complex your taxes are is Cash App Taxes. There are some tax situations that Cash App Taxes does not support. FreeTaxUSA is free for federal filing but charges $14.99 for each state tax return. Both Cash App Taxes and FreeTaxUSA support things like reporting self-employment income, capital gains, and rental income.
Do Mobile Tax Apps Resemble Desktop Versions?
Whether you’re viewing them on a spacious, beautiful computer screen or a small phone screen, personal tax preparation services operate similarly. You do not see the official IRS forms and schedules, although some apps provide previews of those forms, and you can always print the final product. Instead, they guide you step-by-step through the process of answering questions about your tax-related information. Because this process prevents you from inputting data into any IRS forms, it reduces the amount you need to know about the intricacies of tax law and how it has changed over the past year.
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What are the best tax apps for assistance?
Even if they don’t have comprehensive support resources (which they do), tax preparation sites and apps make the process of filing taxes easier than filing paper IRS forms. The guidance these services provide can be the difference between completing your return on your own and submitting it to a professional – which may still be necessary if your financial situation is complex. Preparing your taxes yourself is not suitable for everyone.
Should you use IRS2Go?
There’s another mobile tax app you might want to try, which is hosted by the IRS itself. IRS2Go, the official app from the Internal Revenue Service, includes a set of tools that can help with tax preparation and filing. You can check the status of your refund by entering your Social Security number, filing status, and refund amount. If you filed your return electronically, you should be able to get the status of your refund within 24 hours of the IRS receiving it. Generally, the status of paper returns is available within four weeks.
Are tax apps safe?
One note about filing taxes using a mobile device: you should consider security. The information on your tax returns is inherently sensitive. All recommended services take their security seriously, but it’s important for you to do your part as well.
Most of us don’t think enough about the security of our Wi-Fi connections. If you’re likely to use a Wi-Fi network you don’t control (for example, in a café, library, or airport) at any point during the filing process, you should use an Android VPN app or an iPhone VPN app. If you’ve never used one before, read about the reasons you need a VPN. If the VPN interferes with your tax app, wait until you can connect to a network you control before doing anything else with your taxes.
Most mobile tax apps and their websites support multi-factor authentication, which you should set up and use as it adds another layer of security to your online account.
Another important security fact to know is that the IRS will not contact you or email you randomly to request personal information. The agency prefers to communicate through written messages sent via U.S. mail.
Tax time is here, let’s get started!
No matter how you choose to prepare your taxes, it’s definitely time to get started and get to work. Tax Day is April 18th! You don’t have much time, but we can help you get started with our story on tax tips for last-minute filers.
Source: https://me.pcmag.com/en/tax-software/14467/the-best-mobile-tax-apps-for-2023
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