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Online Tax Preparation & Filing Services
Compare and review services that provide online tax preparation and e-file of your state and federal tax returns.


Tax Preparation Comparisons

Services: Our Ratings: Bottom Line:
H&R Block Rating:
 Best full service provider due to superior support and audit protection
TurboTax Rating:
 Easiest to use service with best online deduction finder tools.
CompleteTax Rating:
 Reputable service provider but not highly differentiated
TaxSimple Rating:
 Very limited support and spotty service availability. Not Recommended.

NextAdvisor Online Tax Preparation Blog Headlines

The U.S. government contradicts its own advice about Social Security numbers
The Federal Trade Commission and the Social Security Administration warn, “Protect your Social Security number. Don’t carry your Social Security card in your wallet or write your Social Security number on a check.” But at least 44 million Medicare insurance cards include the beneficiary’s full Social Security number. Charlene Frizzera, chief operating officer of the nation’s [...]

IRS says early filers prefer e-file
Those Americans that have filed their taxes in the first two months of 2008 are more likely to e-file their returns then ever according to statistics release by the Internal Revenue Service this week. Over 38 million people have filed their 2007 tax returns as of the end of February 2008, which is a 5% increase [...]

USA Today selects TurboTax as top online tax preparation service
National newspaper USA Today published a head to head review of two of our top rated online tax preparation services in their Friday edition this week.  Their testing gave TurboTax a slight edge over H&R Block’s TaxCut, while they also gave honorable mention to TaxAct. All three of the services mentioned in the USA Today article [...]

Economic stimulus and your 2007 tax return
Earlier this month President Bush signed the $168 million economic stimulus package into law. For those not familiar with the program it will mean that most tax payers will receive $300, $600 or $1200 rebates plus $300 per child. The goal of the program is to provide relief to tax payers and stimulate [...]

Top ten reasons to prepare your taxes online and efile in 2008
Preparing and filing your taxes can be stressful and confusing.   But, many reputable companies provide online tax preparation and efile services that will take much of the complexity and worry out of preparing your tax returns. There are many reasons to use an online tax preparation service.  Below are ten of the most compelling benefits of [...]

H&R Block offers tax refund loan to the military
Many online tax preparation services offer so-called “refund anticipation loan” that payout a consumer’s anticipated tax refund much more quickly than the IRS typically will. However, due to a 2006 law to help protect members of the military community, those loans are very difficult for military service people to find. The law in question is [...]

$800 million in tax benefits go unclaimed
H&R Block estimates that that nearly $1 billion dollars in potential consumer tax credits are overlooked each year by people that aren’t aware of their eligibility for these benefits. Alan Bennett, H&R Block’s CEO stated: Our research shows that three out of four taxpayers arenâ??t aware of potential tax filing delays created by some last-minute changes in [...]

Job hunters may be eligible for bigger tax refunds then they are getting
According to the New York Times, a number of job hunting related expenses are actually tax deductible and could lead to higher tax refunds or lower tax bills. The article states: Job hunters may be eligible for can take the following deductions, says Jackie Perlman, a senior tax-research analyst at H&R Block, in Kansas City, Mo.: � travel expenses [...]

Save time, money and hassle with online tax preparation
Nothing is certain except death and taxes, but thanks to online tax preparation and filing services we are certain that preparing your tax 2007 tax returns and filing them with the IRS can be easier than it ever has been. We just launched a new comparison of online tax preparation and filing services just [...]


Did you know?

Did you know that over 60 million American consumers file their taxes online every year? In fact, the IRS e-file program was launched back in 1986 to make the process of filing taxes easier and cheaper for consumers. Preparing your taxes online is secure, easy and much cheaper than using an accountant. You can e-file both your state and federal taxes with many online providers, but we have found a great deal of variance in the quality of service and features that different online tax preparation and e-file services provide.

Read our reviews to learn more about the best online tax preparation and filing services

How Does It Work?

Preparing your taxes online, also known as e-file, couldn't be easier. All of the providers we have reviewed have web based tax preparation tools that will walk you through each step of the tax preparation process. Most will help you identify deductions you are eligible for to help increase your tax return or decrease the size of your tax bill. No one likes paying taxes, but an online tax preparation and filing service will make the task much easier.

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Audit Protection

While nobody ever expects to get audited by the IRS, many people do each year. These tax audits can be stressful and costly. Several of the tax preparation and filing services we reviewed offer audit protection, which means they will provide guidance and support in the case that your tax return is audited. We strongly suggest that you consider audit protection when filing your taxes online.

View all tax preparation and filing services.