How much does it cost to file TurboTax for free?
This is How TurboTax Got You to Pay to File Your Taxes
Join us as we navigate the waters of TurboTax in search of a free tax filing option.
This article will provide you with information on how to file your state and federal taxes without paying a fee in 2021, in preparation for the tax year 2020. Look here for additional recently updated tax guidelines.
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Did you know that if you have an annual income of less than $66,000, you are eligible to have your taxes prepared and filed for free?
No? That’s no accident. The makers of tax preparation software like Intuit, which is the company behind TurboTax, would prefer it if you didn’t know this information.
Intuit and other firms that manufacture tax preparation software have spent millions of dollars lobbying the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to prevent it from offering its own tax preparation and filing service. In return, the corporations have reached an arrangement with the Internal Revenue Service to provide a product known as “Free File” to the majority of Americans; nevertheless, it may be difficult to locate this product.
This is what happened when we went hunting for it:
Google was our initial destination. We searched for “free file taxes with the IRS.”
And here we were, thinking that we’d finally discovered what we were searching for: advertisements from TurboTax and other companies guiding us to free items.
The initial link gave off a positive impression. It used the term “free” a total of five times! After clicking, we were pleased to learn that there was a 100% chance that we could file our taxes for free.
The creation of the profile of a TaskRabbit home cleaner who earned $29,000 was the first step in the process. We were required to submit a lot of personal information. More than a dozen questions and suggestions regarding our financial situation were presented to us once we signed in to TurboTax.
After all of that, we didn’t find out the bad news until much later: TurboTax disclosed that this wasn’t going to be free in any way. It was discovered that the home cleaning did not meet the requirements since he is a self-employed independent contractor. The fee is $120 plus tax.
What Is the TurboTax Free Edition?
The following is what took place when we went searching:
Google was the first place we looked. We looked for “IRS free file taxes” in the search engine.
We believed that we had found what we were seeking for when we saw advertisements from TurboTax and other companies that directed us to free items.
The first connection offered some glimmer of hope. It had the word “free” written there five different times! After clicking, we were glad to learn that there would be no charge for submitting the return.
There is a free version of TurboTax available, and it is known as TurboTax Free Edition. It is not the same as the TurboTax Free File version, which is included in the program offered by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
People who are merely submitting extremely basic tax returns are eligible for the free edition of TurboTax software.
Take note that the TurboTax Free Edition may not always be free to use. It sets many individuals on the path to being financially stable.
