Who should use TurboTax
TurboTax is the default recommendation for people with complex tax situations: self-employment income, rental property, significant investments, stock compensation, or anything involving multiple states. The interview-style guidance is genuinely good at catching deductions you'd miss on your own, and the import integrations (W-2s, 1099s, brokerage statements) are the best in the industry.
For simple returns — W-2 income, standard deduction, maybe a Roth IRA contribution — TurboTax is overpriced. FreeTaxUSA or Cash App Taxes will produce an identical return for $0-$15.
Pricing
TurboTax has a tiered pricing structure that changes frequently. For tax year 2025 filing in 2026:
- Free Edition: simple returns only (W-2, standard deduction, limited credits). Strict eligibility.
- Deluxe: around $69 federal plus $59 per state. Adds itemized deductions and mortgage interest.
- Premier: around $99 federal plus $59 per state. Adds investments, rental property, and crypto.
- Self-Employed: around $129 federal plus $59 per state. Adds Schedule C and deduction finder for freelancers.
TurboTax Live adds CPA review and costs roughly double the underlying tier. TurboTax Full Service, where a tax pro does everything, costs several hundred dollars depending on complexity.
What makes it worth paying for
The guided interview is the single best tax-prep UX in the category. It asks questions in plain English, explains edge cases as you go, and remembers context from previous answers. For a self-employed person with $80K of 1099 income and home office deductions, it will ask about every line item worth claiming — something a DIY-er filing on Free File fillable forms could easily miss.
Audit protection (up to $1M coverage) is included in paid tiers. The refund advance is real but comes with strings; read the fine print.
Why not to pay for it
If your return is simple, you're paying $90+ for a product that IRS Free File provides for $0. The "Free Edition" upsell path is notoriously aggressive — many filers who start free end up paying because TurboTax flags their return as ineligible mid-way through.
Bottom line
Pay for TurboTax if your return is genuinely complex. If you make less than $79,000 (IRS Free File income limit) or have a simple W-2 return, there's no reason to use it.
