TurboTax
Free for simple returns, $79 or $139 federal for the rest, $64 per state, plus paid expert help. Prices for tax year 2025.
Prices checked October 14, 2026See current priceThe Bottom Line
- Federal filing
- Free plan available, paid plans from $79 (tax year 2025 prices) (verified Oct 14, 2026). All rates and fees
Key facts
- Federal from: $0
- Free federal: Yes
- Self-employed: From $139
- Prices for: Tax year 2025
Pros
- A free plan for simple returns that now includes the new tips, overtime, car loan interest and senior deductions
- Expert Assist gives you unlimited expert advice and a final review while you stay in control of the return
- Every return comes with informational audit support, and the accuracy and refund guarantees last seven years
- Photo and employer import, plus last year's return carrying over, takes most of the typing out
Cons
- Only about 37% of taxpayers qualify for Free Edition, by Intuit's own figure
- A freelancer needs Premium at $139 federal plus $64 per state, and every paid price is set when you file
- The expert plans are expensive: Expert Assist Premium is $209 federal plus $69 per state
- Intuit's "free" advertising has drawn a state settlement and an FTC case, so read the free plan's limits before you start
At a glance
Prices checked October 14, 2026- Price basis
- Tax year 2025 prices, for returns filed in 2026
- Free federal return
- Yes: Simple Form 1040 returns only: W-2 pay, a small amount of interest or dividends, the standard deduction, the Earned Income and Child Tax Credits, student loan interest, the new tips, overtime, car loan interest and seniors deductions, and taxable retirement distributions. Intuit says roughly 37% of taxpayers qualify.
- Paid federal, from
- $79
- State returns
- $64 per state on the do-it-yourself plans, $59 to $69 with Expert Assist. A state return is $0 only if you qualify for the free federal return.
- Self-employed
- Do It Yourself Premium, $139 federal
- Live expert help
- Expert Assist Basic from $59; Expert Assist Deluxe from $129; Expert Assist Premium from $209; Expert Full Service
- Included support
- Access to a TurboTax product specialist for help using the software comes with the paid plans. It is not included with Free Edition (it is a paid upgrade).
- Audit support
- Every return comes with informational audit support: if you get an audit letter, a tax professional answers your questions. They will not represent you before the IRS. Full audit representation is a separate paid add-on (Audit Defense, run by a third party) whose price we could not find on the pages we read.
- Guarantee
- 100% Accurate Calculations Guarantee: pays an IRS or state penalty and interest caused by a TurboTax calculation error. Maximum Refund Guarantee: refunds the TurboTax price if another method, through an amended return, gets you a bigger refund (Free Edition users get $30). Both last seven years.
- Refund options
- Paying for TurboTax out of your refund: "a $40 service fee may apply". A refund up to 5 days early into your own bank account costs a fee (amount not stated) and is free into a Credit Karma Money account. TurboTax Refund Advance, a 0% loan, ended for this season. TurboTax also offers a loan to pay a tax bill (File Now, Pay Later, variable APR 15% to 33%); the offer was stated to expire October 16, 2026.
- Mobile app
- Yes. The free TurboTax app: take a photo of your documents to fill in the return.
- Imports
- Photo or upload of W-2 and other forms, import from employers and financial institutions, last year's TurboTax return carries over, and Premium can import a PDF of last year's return from another major tax software.
- Forms supported
- Free Edition: simple Form 1040 with Schedule 1-A, EIC and Child Tax Credit forms. Deluxe adds Schedules A, B, SE, C (income only), Forms 8889, 8863 and 2441. Premium adds the full Schedule C, Schedules D, E and F, Forms 8949, 8829 and 4797 and K-1s.
- IRS Free File
- No. Intuit left the IRS Free File program in 2021. TurboTax Free Edition is Intuit's own product, not IRS Free File.
Sources: turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/online, turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/online/free-…, read October 14, 2026
TurboTax prices by plan
Tax year 2025 prices, for returns filed in 2026 · checked October 14, 2026Free Edition
People with a very simple return: a W-2 job, the standard deduction and a few common credits.
Covers: Simple Form 1040 only: W-2 pay, small interest or dividends, standard deduction, Earned Income and Child Tax Credits, student loan interest, tips, overtime, car loan interest and senior deductions, taxable retirement distributions. Not covered: itemizing, unemployment (1099-G), freelance or 1099-NEC income, stock or crypto sales, rental income.
Intuit says roughly 37% of taxpayers qualify. If you enter something it does not cover, you are asked to upgrade. The offer "may change or end at any time without notice".
- Federal
- Free
- Each state
- Free
$0 if you qualify for the free federal return
Do It Yourself Deluxe
Do-it-yourself filers who itemize, own a home, have kids or education credits, an HSA, or unemployment income.
Covers: Everything in Free Edition, plus itemized deductions, mortgage and property tax, charitable gifts, education and dependent credits, an HSA, unemployment income, 1099-NEC income (income only, not the full Schedule C) and interest and dividends over $1,500. Not covered: stock and crypto sales, rental income, the full Schedule C.
Shown with an asterisk. The final price is set when you e-file or print.
- Federal
- $79
- Each state
- $64
Do It Yourself Premium
Investors, freelancers and landlords who do their own return.
Covers: Everything in Deluxe, plus stock, crypto and bond sales (Schedule D and Form 8949), rental income, the full self-employment Schedule C with expenses and home office, farm income and K-1s. This is TurboTax's plan for freelancers: there is no separate self-employed plan online.
Shown with an asterisk. The final price is set when you e-file or print.
- Federal
- $139
- Each state
- $64
“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.
What would you pay at TurboTax?
Free Edition: Free federal + Free for one state
One job, standard deduction, no side income or investments, one state.
Do It Yourself Premium: $139 federal + $64 for one state
Self-employment income reported on Schedule C, one state.
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.
Good to know before you file
- Free Edition is for simple Form 1040 returns only. Intuit says roughly 37% of taxpayers qualify, and itemizing, unemployment income, freelance income, stock or crypto sales or rental income move you to a paid plan. You can start free and be asked to upgrade after you have entered your information.
- Paid plan prices carry an asterisk: TurboTax says the actual price is set by the version you use and the date you print or e-file, and is subject to change without notice.
- State returns are priced per state on top of the federal price: $64 on the do-it-yourself plans, $59 to $69 with Expert Assist.
- Freelancers, investors and landlords need Premium: $139 federal plus $64 per state, $203 for one state, at the tax year 2025 prices.
- Paying TurboTax out of your refund can carry a $40 service fee. The fee for a refund up to 5 days early into your own bank account is not stated on the pages we read.
- Audit support included with every return is informational only. Representation before the IRS is a separate paid add-on whose price we could not find.
- TurboTax's Expert Full Service price appears two ways on its own site ($199 standard and $499 complex including state in one version, "starting at $129" in another). Confirm at checkout.
- Intuit's "free" advertising has been challenged. In 2022 Intuit agreed with all 50 states and D.C. to pay $141 million to people who started in the Free Edition but could have filed free through IRS Free File. In January 2024 the FTC found its "free" ads deceptive; in March 2026 a federal appeals court vacated that order and sent the case back to the FTC, ruling on how the FTC brought the case (through its in-house judge) rather than on whether the ads were lawful.
What is TurboTax?
Key details
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TurboTax FAQ
How much does TurboTax cost?
Is TurboTax Free Edition really free?
How much does TurboTax cost for a freelancer?
What is the difference between Do It Yourself and Expert Assist?
Is TurboTax part of IRS Free File?
What happened with the FTC and TurboTax's free ads?
Source: turbotax.intuit.com