Price: TaxAct Generally Undercuts TurboTax
Although both services are on the expensive side, they do offer free federal versions that support a limited number of tax situations. But whereas TurboTax has a similar free version for state returns, TaxAct charges $39.99 for each one you must file. (Note: Approximately 37% of filers qualify for TurboTax Free Edition including simple Form 1040 returns only—no schedules, except for EITC, CTC, student loan interest, and Schedule 1-A.)
TaxAct’s paid versions currently range in price between $29.99 and $74.99. You need the most expensive one, Self-Employed, if you are a gig worker or run another type of small business that requires filing Schedule C. As mentioned, each state returns adds $39.99. TurboTax offers two paid online editions, Deluxe ($49) and Premium ($99). Each state return adds $39. You must pay for the Premium tier if you need to report on advanced tax topics, such as self-employment.
All of these prices will go up later in the tax season. The top-end versions of TaxAct and TurboTax will increase to $109.99 and $139.99, respectively, while TurboTax's state filing rate will go up to $64.
No matter which version you use, you won’t pay until you are ready to file your return. Therefore, you can always try out tax prep software to see which one works best. It doesn’t matter when you start your return, however, as TurboTax and TaxAct will always charge the current price save for any promotions).
Winner: TaxAct
Interface and Ease of Use: A Matter of Taste
I evaluate the quality of a tax service's user experience based on more than just the attractiveness of its fonts, graphics, and layout, though those aspects certainly contribute. Navigation conventions, functionality, and usability are all equally important.
TaxAct's latest interface cuts down on unnecessary pages and offers improved navigation. I enjoy its simplicity and no-nonsense approach quite a bit, along with its overall appearance. A smart choice of fonts and layouts makes pages balanced and legible, while the content makes good use of screen space. It seemed faster than TurboTax in testing, though many factors contribute to a site’s pace, of course.
TurboTax’s user experience has always been excellent. Its text is a little lighter and can be more difficult to read than TaxAct’s, but its fonts, page layouts, and occasional graphics make for a top-notch design. Navigation cues are always clear and understandable, though TurboTax lacks TaxAct’s detailed tax topic directory that appears at the very beginning of the Federal section.
Evaluating a site’s user experience involves some subjectivity, though usability is always critical. You very well might prefer TurboTax’s lighter, more aesthetically pleasing look over TaxAct’s serious, no-frills approach or vice versa.
Winner: Tie
Interview and Walk-Throughs: TurboTax Makes Things Smoother
Both TaxAct and TurboTax take a hybrid approach in helping you complete the 1040, using a combination of tax topic lists and wizard-like tools. They roughly follow the path of the 1040, asking questions and allowing you to provide your answers by checking boxes, entering data, and selecting options from lists. Both handle the mechanics of the interview capably and use clear, understandable language, not stilted IRS talk. TurboTax is more casual and conversational, and it handles transitions between sections more seamlessly, so it feels like one lengthy interview. TaxAct is choppier.
TaxAct offers to walk you step by step through the whole process, which is an advantage, especially if you are inexperienced or have a complex return. You can also opt to just select the topics you need from the lists provided, complete the mini wizard for that topic, and return to the list. TurboTax supports this method, which can reduce your tax prep time—so long as you’re certain you can identify every tax topic you need to visit.
TaxAct allows you to jump ahead in the interview without completing the current one, unlike some competitors. This approach might cause you to miss tax topics you need, though the software should flag incomplete topics in its final review.
Both sites strive to save you time. For example, on some lengthy forms, TaxAct displays only the fields you are most likely to need and then asks whether any others apply. If so, it opens them. Otherwise, you can just move on. TurboTax now allows you to select an estimated dollar range for possible deductions, such as medical expenses. If you clearly have no chance of itemizing, it tells you the standard deduction is your best option, which can save you some data entry time.
Finally, the ability to import data from external sources is vital; it saves time and reduces errors. TurboTax is more comprehensive and flexible when it comes to important tax documents, such as Form 1099B. You can bring in data directly from financial institutions or via a scanned file upload. If you’re tracking financial transactions in Credit Karma (which Intuit owns), you can import that data directly into TurboTax.
Winner: TurboTax
Tax Topic Coverage: Each Is Comprehensive
Both services start by helping you select the tax topics that apply to your financial situation. They ask a series of questions to determine those relevant categories, though every topic remains available in case you miss something. They then divide the 1040 into its major sections (including income, deductions and credits, and taxes), displaying lists of individual tax topics (such as dividend income, medical and dental expenses, and self-employment income) under each.
Both TaxAct and TurboTax support all major IRS forms and schedules and most minor ones. This means that the vast majority of taxpayers should be able to complete their returns with either. In my testing, however, TurboTax seemed to dig deeper in both common and obscure topic areas.
Buried in the lower left corner of TaxAct, near the bottom of the toolbar, are two very helpful tools: the Forms Assistant and Topics Assistant. These can be quite helpful when you’re trying to get to a specific form, topic, or even page. Still, I wish these icons were more prominent. TurboTax similarly buries a detailed, searchable topic list in its toolbar.
Winner: Tie
Help Resources: TurboTax Is Far More Supportive
Both tax prep websites provide multiple types of help. They offer free support for technical questions about the app’s operations by chat, email, or phone. Each displays explanations of tax topics as you progress through the interview and allows you to search their knowledge bases for answers to specific questions—sometimes through AI-driven chatbots. Both offer access to tax professionals via chat or phone to discuss tax-related queries (for an extra fee), too. Rather than simply providing IRS instructions, TaxAct and TurboTax have rewritten those complex documents to make them more understandable.
The accessibility, depth, and volume of a tax service's online guidance are extremely important in my assessments. TurboTax prevails here. Throughout all its levels of help, the app’s explanations of tax topics are exceptionally clear and lively. It explains financial concepts as interview pages introduce them and provides links to additional help. The latter take you to context-sensitive articles and how-to guides in a vertical pane and include direct links to topic pages when appropriate. TurboTax’s interview contains more of these links—and more explanatory text in the Q&A itself—than TaxAct's.
You can enter words and phrases in TurboTax's search box to find answers to your questions. I had mixed results using this method in testing. Occasionally, it delivered multiple hits, for example, some of which related to the search text entered. I had better, more focused results by using the TurboTax AI Assistant, which converses with you and suggests follow-up questions. It learns, too, something the more traditional search tool doesn't. It responded accurately and directly to my queries in testing.
For both tools, of course, your results depend on the scope and specificity of your phrase or question. And you should pay attention to the source of your answers. I’ve criticized TurboTax in the past for posting responses from community members rather than internal staff, and I still have that complaint.
TaxAct offers a similar set of core help tools, but, as mentioned, it doesn’t embed as many links to help within the Q&A pages. And when it does, those links sometimes open in a window that obscures the interview page. More guidance would be welcome throughout the whole site, especially on pages that deal with advanced topics. Unfortunately, the site still sometimes directs you to IRS publications. It doesn’t incorporate AI into a separate search tool, either.
But TaxAct does something that TurboTax doesn’t. When the right vertical pane is open and clear of previous content, it provides context-sensitive content that changes dynamically as you advance through screens. I didn’t see a lot of this, but it works sometimes. This pane also includes form instructions, links to IRS publications, and the Tax Glossary.
TaxAct is also better at combing through finished returns and pointing out errors and omissions. It does a beautiful job of displaying only the fields and pages that need corrections and then moving on to the next until you resolve everything. TurboTax also took me straight to a field where I could enter the missing cost of supplies in the business expense section, but for some reason, it also displayed a lengthy Schedule C worksheet that wasn't live or necessary.
Winner: TurboTax
Mobile Access: TurboTax's Advantages Carry Over
TurboTax and TaxAct both do a great job when it comes to mobile access. TurboTax has a downloadable app (available for Android and iOS), whereas TaxAct's site resizes responsively for smaller screens. Each version is as comprehensive as its desktop counterpart, so you can file even a complex return that requires lots of forms and schedules. TaxAct excels at checking your return when you’re finished and letting you fix errors. TurboTax is easier to read on the small screen, and its help resources are superior. Because they mirror their desktop counterparts, TurboTax has an edge here.
Winner: TurboTax