Overview

TaxAct is tax-preparation software for individual filers, businesses, and tax professionals, with online and downloadable options plus a mobile app. It is most compelling for people whose returns include investments, rental property, or self-employment, and for preparers working across business entities. The central trade-off is breadth of filing support against a free tier with narrow eligibility and added state-filing costs.

Key features

TaxAct supports investment and rental income, self-employment, and business returns for partnerships, C corporations, S corporations, sole proprietors, and tax-exempt organizations. That gives taxpayers with more involved returns a path beyond a basic Form 1040 product. TaxAct Professional is aimed at CPAs, enrolled agents, and tax preparers, so individual filers should look to the consumer products instead.

The Free Edition covers IRS Form 1040 without attached forms or schedules. It includes situations such as W-2, unemployment, and retirement income, but excludes investment, rental, business, and self-employed income and expenses. About 40% of users qualified for free filing based on income and deductions, which makes it worth checking eligibility but a poor assumption for anyone whose return needs additional forms.

For consumer 1040 products, Xpert Assist provides unlimited live tax advice and assistance. That can help filers who want to prepare their own return with expert guidance along the way. Tax-data import, deduction and credit calculations, and refund-maximization tools round out the preparation workflow. The $100k Accuracy Guarantee covers qualifying software errors, including certain costs and penalties; it is a meaningful safeguard, though its stated scope is limited to qualifying errors.

The mobile app supports filing on the go, photographing documents, checking progress, and getting expert help. Encryption, access controls, and information security policies protect taxpayer data. TaxAct says more than 113 million federal returns have been filed through its software since 2000, and identifies TaxAct, LLC as a Taxwell company.

Pricing

TaxAct uses a freemium model. Online filing starts at $0 for eligible standard returns, while paid consumer online products let filers begin at no charge and pay when filing; stopping before printing or e-filing incurs no charge. State filing is additional for several plans, so the federal price alone may not represent the total.

Plan	Price	Best fit and trade-off
Free	Free	Eligible standard returns with federal filing. State is additional, and eligibility depends on income and deductions; no attached forms or schedules are covered.
Deluxe	$59.99 USD per once	A paid consumer option when the Free Edition does not fit; state is additional.
Premier	$99.99 USD per once	For people with income from investment assets; state is additional.
Self-Employed	$109.99 USD per once	For self-employed filers; state is additional.
Basic Desktop	$44.99 USD per once	Downloadable preparation with 5 federal e-files; state is additional.
Deluxe Desktop	$139.99 USD per once	Downloadable preparation with 5 federal e-files and 1 state return.

The cheaper Free plan gives up coverage for investment, rental, business, and self-employed income, while Deluxe, Premier, and Self-Employed add a paid route for returns beyond its limits. Desktop plans specify five federal e-files, making them relevant to someone preparing multiple federal returns; only Deluxe Desktop includes one state return. TaxAct also offers a first consumer-prepared online 2025 federal and state return for one flat $70 under stated dates. A refund may be requested within the purchase calendar year if billing is complete but the return has not been printed or e-filed, subject to conditions.

Platforms

TaxAct offers online filing, downloadable tax-preparation software, and a mobile app. The app's document photography and progress view suit filers who want to handle parts of the process on a phone, while downloadable software offers a desktop alternative. Live Xpert Assist is available for consumer 1040 products.

Who it's for

TaxAct is a good fit for individual taxpayers whose income includes investments, rental property, or self-employment and who want a dedicated filing tier for that situation. It also serves businesses across several entity types and tax professionals who prepare returns for clients. A filer with only a straightforward return should first confirm Free Edition eligibility and account for any state charge; someone needing forms beyond its narrow coverage should compare the paid plan cost with alternatives.

Pros and cons

Pros: Consumer plans address investment and self-employment income, and business filing spans partnerships, corporations, sole proprietors, and tax-exempt organizations.
Pros: Unlimited live advice for consumer 1040 products offers direct help while preparing a return.
Pros: Desktop plans include five federal e-files, useful for preparing multiple federal returns; Deluxe Desktop also includes one state return.
Cons: Free filing excludes common sources such as investment, rental, and self-employed income and only covers Form 1040 without attached forms or schedules.
Cons: State filing is an additional cost on Free, Deluxe, Premier, Self-Employed, and Basic Desktop, which can make the total price higher than the federal plan price.
Cons: The $100k Accuracy Guarantee applies to qualifying software errors, so it is not a blanket assurance against every filing issue.

Alternatives

TurboTax is another web-based freemium option for simple Form 1040 returns, with a Free Edition priced at $0 federal and state for eligible filers; its Do It Yourself Deluxe is $79.

For professional preparers needing multi-entity work and unlimited e-file and print files, Instead has a free plan with unlimited users and entities. MyTAXPrepOffice is a paid option with a free trial and an Individual Pro annual license. OLTPro offers paid professional tax software with a free trial and a 25-return one-time plan. Consider Tax Series for an API or web product with custom pricing based on a proof of concept. UltimateTax is a paid professional option with a free trial and an annual Online 1040 plan. UpTax is a web-based paid option with a free trial.

For broader comparisons, browse Personal Tax Software, Small Business Tax Software, Tax Preparation Software, and AI Tax Software.

Verdict

TaxAct is best for filers who need support for investment, rental, or self-employment income, and for businesses or preparers looking beyond a simple consumer return. Its strongest reasons to choose it are the range of filing paths and unlimited live advice for consumer 1040 products. Look elsewhere if free filing is essential and your return may exceed the Form 1040-only limits, or if state charges make the full filing cost less attractive.

	TaxAct	Winman
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial		Yes
Paid from	$44.99/mo
Platforms	Web	Linux, macOS, Windows
Free plan	Yes	No
Paid from	44.99 one-time
Self-employment support	Yes
Investment income	Yes
Rental income	Yes
State filing	paid_add_on
Mobile access	web_and_mobile
Audit support	Yes
Filer types		both
Amended returns		Yes
Electronic filing included		Yes

TaxAct vs Winman

TaxAct

Winman