Free Taxes: 8 Ways to File Your Tax Return for Free

IRS Free File and Free File Fillable Forms

The IRS partners with tax companies to provide its Free File Program, which offers free tax software to Americans whose adjusted gross income (AGI) is $73,000 or less. If you meet the AGI requirement, you can select one of eight commercial software programs (including TaxAct and TaxSlayer, which are on our list of best tax software for 2022) to guide you through filing a federal tax return. 

The catch? Not all state returns are free. Each offer specifically lists which states are included in its Free File product; be sure to carefully review each product’s state list before choosing.

If your AGI is greater than $73,000, you can file for free with the IRS using its Free File Fillable Forms, but they don’t include free state return options and there’s no guided assistance. You’ll need to manually check the math, and you can’t make changes once your return is accepted.

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance or Tax Counseling for the Elderly

The IRS also offers free tax preparation services for those most in need: The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program helps filers who make less than $57,000, those with disabilities or those who speak limited English. The volunteers are IRS-certified and supply basic income tax return prep.

Tax Counseling for the Elderly assists those who are 60 and older with specific advice on retirement-related concerns. Even those who are still working but nearing retirement might benefit from TCE services.

To find a VITA or TCE site near you, use the VITA/TCE Locator Tool or call 800-906-9887.

Debuting for the first time in 2022, Cash App Taxes (formerly Credit Karma Tax) allows you to file for free — even if you’re self-employed — and we consider it the best free tax product available right now.

Cash App doesn’t offer as much support as some professional software and doesn’t include the ability to upload 1099 income forms, but if you don’t need much hand-holding or have a simple return, it’s a great option for filing a tax return for free.

Read our full review of Cash App Taxes 2022.

Founded in 2001 as an original member of the Free File Alliance, FreeTaxUSA provides a strong option for filing your federal income taxes at no cost. The tax preparation software gives you one free federal return that includes all the IRS forms and schedules that most tax filers need. You’ll need to pay $15 to file your state return, however.

A well-organized and efficient question-and-answer process will guide you through the process of completing your tax return. It doesn’t include the polished interface and support features of top tax software like TurboTax or H&R Block, but FreeTaxUSA does a good job of providing contextual help and answers to common tax questions. It should work well for anyone looking to file taxes on the cheap.

Longtime in-person tax preparer H&R Block also offers a way to file your taxes for free online. H&R Block’s Free Online product includes a federal tax return and one state return, all for no cost. However, it leaves out gig workers and freelancers as there’s no support for 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC forms.

H&R Block Free Online does let you easily import tax documents from last year and includes a robust help center and online technical support. It offers access to a few tax deductions and credits, including the earned income tax credit, child tax credit and educational expenses. 

However, if you want to report income from stock sales, deduct business or child care expenses or claim deductions like mortgage interest, you’ll need another tax service. The full list of IRS forms supported by Free Online can be found in this PDF list from H&R Block.

Read our full review of H&R Block 2022.

File your federal and state taxes for free with TaxAct Free. You can import your filings from TurboTax, H&R Block or import last year’s TaxAct return at no extra charge. 

After you file a federal return, your details are autocompleted in your state return and, as with H&R Block, you’ll be able to see your estimated refund in real time. However, TaxAct does not include a free state tax return; that will cost you $40.

Read the list of state and federal forms TaxAct offers for free (click on “forms”) before deciding if TaxAct Free will work for you.

Like with most commercial software, you’ll need a simple return to qualify for free tax filing with TaxSlayer. Its Simply Free tier lets you prepare, file and print your federal return — and get one free state return at no extra cost. 

TaxSlayer has live chat, email and phone support for when you need extra help. Unfortunately, TaxSlayer Simply Free has some strict limitations: You can’t claim the child tax credit or earned income tax credit, nor can your adjusted gross income (AGI) be greater than $100,000. Peruse the full list of requirements for TaxSlayer Simply Free to help guide your decision.

Read our full review of TaxSlayer 2022.

How do I use free tax software?

Free tax preparation software allows you to complete all of the necessary forms for your tax return and file them with the IRS. Simple, guided interviews let users answer questions that populate electronic IRS forms for completing their income tax returns. 

These free tax programs include reviews of your tax return and options to receive your tax refund by direct deposit or as a check in the mail. 

Free tax software users should be wary of paid upgrades. Some software publishers earn money by enticing free filers to upgrade for extra support or required IRS forms that aren’t included with free versions. If the software you’re using requires an upgrade while you’re filing, see if Cash App Taxes will work for you — it includes the vast majority of IRS forms at no cost.

What is the best free tax software?

Based on its feature set, included IRS forms, interface and support, Cash App Taxes earns CNET’s pick for best free tax software in 2022.

Cash App Taxes’ biggest strength is that it will work for almost any tax filer. Its very short list of restrictions includes foreign income, nonresident state returns, increased standard deduction (rare), and married filing singly in community property states.

Cash App Taxes doesn’t even have any paid tax preparation services, so you don’t have to worry about pitches for upgrades. If you can file your return with Cash App Taxes, it will certainly be 100% free. It works with every state that requires a tax return except for Montana.

The level of support in Cash App Taxes is not comparable to top products like TurboTax or H&R Block, but it does include live chat and contextual help content.

What features do free tax software programs offer?

Free tax software program vary in their limitations, feature sets and ability to file state tax returns for free. Some free programs restrict their users by income level. See more details on the five free commercial software included in our best free tax software collection:

How do free tax software products make money?

Companies that offer free tax software generally earn money in two ways:

1. They attract free filers and then upsell them with paid service or feature upgrades.
2. They earn indirect income from free filers by collecting data, targeting users with advertisements, raising brand awareness or increasing the number of users for their products.

For example, Cash App Taxes, our top pick for best free tax software, requires that users install its Cash App mobile payment-service app. Increasing the users of the Cash App service helps the company earn money in ways like retailer hardware fees, transaction fees, selling bitcoin and net interest lending.

Methodology: How we select the best free tax software

CNET reviews tax software by comparing products across a set criteria. We use the software to prepare personal tax returns, examine tax products’ terms and offers, communicate with software representatives to resolve questions about products, compare feature sets and analyze each software for its effectiveness in common tax situations.

We consider the features and functionality of the tax preparation software, the user experience, the software interface, website performance, quality of help and support, and the value based on price. We are also looking for and evaluating specific features, including file importing or photo capture of forms, number and type of available IRS forms and schedules, contextual help, desktop and phone/tablet compatibility and syncing, professional tax assistance, maximum refund and accuracy guarantees, live support and security protections.

Specifically for best free tax software, we consider the limitations and restrictions of the free services offered, unique features for each service, functionality related to low-income tax filers, in-person support and assistance, and whether or not a free state tax return is included with the free federal return.