FreeTaxUSA

Price basis

Tax year 2025 prices, for returns filed in 2026

Free federal return

Yes: Everyone. The federal return is free for every situation FreeTaxUSA supports, from a simple W-2 to investments, rental income and self-employment.

State returns

$15.99 per state return. A state return is free only if you start from the IRS Free File page and qualify.

Self-employed

Federal for every situation, free federal

Live expert help

Deluxe Support from $7.99; Pro Support from $64.99

Audit support

Audit Defense add-on, $19.99. A team of CPAs and enrolled agents helps with IRS or state notices and audits. It covers the federal return for 3 years and the state return for 4 years. The terms are in a separate membership agreement we did not read.

Guarantee

Maximum Refund Guarantee: if another filing method gives you a larger refund from the same facts, FreeTaxUSA refunds its fees and gives you a free amended return. Accuracy Guarantee: pays IRS or state penalties and interest caused by a calculation error in the software, nothing more.

Refund options

Direct deposit is free. Paying FreeTaxUSA from your refund (a refund transfer through a partner bank) adds a $24.99 fee on top of the price of what you ordered. Paying by card costs nothing extra. A prepaid debit card option exists; the fee was not stated on the pages we read.

Mobile app

No separate phone app listed on the vendor's pages. It is a website, and you can take a photo of a W-2 or 1099 to fill it in.

Imports

W-2 by photo or PDF, 1099s by file or photo, stock and crypto 1099-B or Form 8949 upload, and a PDF of last year's return from another tax software. Returning users' details carry over.

Forms supported

Broad: W-2, the common 1099 forms (including 1099-NEC, 1099-K, 1099-B, 1099-DA for crypto), Schedules C, E, F and SE, K-1s, Form 4797 and many more. Not supported: foreign earned income (Form 2555), nonresident returns (Form 1040NR), people living outside the U.S. when they file, Form 6198 and business casualty losses.

IRS Free File

Yes. The IRS lists FreeTaxUSA as a Free File partner: free federal and free state if your adjusted gross income is $51,000 or less (or $89,000 or less and active military), reached from irs.gov/freefile.

Sources: freetaxusa.com/pricing, freetaxusa.com/deluxe, read October 14, 2026

• Federal for every situation

  Anyone who is comfortable preparing their own return, including freelancers, investors and landlords.

  Covers: W-2 and 1099 income, itemized deductions, stock and crypto sales, rental income, Schedule C self-employment income, K-1s and most common credits. Not supported: foreign earned income (Form 2555), nonresident alien returns (Form 1040NR) and a few rare situations.

  The vendor shows the same price for all four of its feature groups (basic, advanced, premium, self-employed). There is no paid upgrade to file complex federal forms.

  Federal

  Free

  Each state

  $15.99

  $15.99 per state, not free

“Federal” is your return to the IRS. “State” is a separate return to your state, priced per state. Vendors often show a “starting at” price and set the final one when you file, based on the forms your return needs.

Federal plus one state return at the cheapest plan that covers the situation, using the prices above (tax year 2025 prices, for returns filed in 2026). Optional extras (expert help, audit protection, refund-transfer fees) are not included.