Tax Software Research Program
Lead analyst: James Park ·How we evaluate tax software: covered-form matrix, true price after upsells, accuracy guarantees, audit support, and the evidence behind every score.
Research program Seasonal retest Verified filings
What this program covers
Tax software is scored against two realities most marketing pages hide: the forms your return actually requires, and the final price after upsells. We build a form-coverage matrix per product and a full checkout trace from a common filing scenario to its final charged amount.
Scoring rubric
| Dimension | Weight | What we measure |
|---|---|---|
| Form Coverage | 30% | Schedules A, B, C, D, E, F, K-1, SE, 8283, 8606, 8949, state forms, and handling of multi-state filers. What is in each plan tier, what forces an upgrade. |
| True Price After Upsells | 20% | Checkout-measured price for a real scenario including state filing, deluxe-tier bumps, audit defense add-ons, and premium support. |
| Accuracy & Guarantees | 15% | Accuracy guarantee fine print, maximum refund guarantee terms, and how each vendor actually pays out a successful claim. |
| Audit Support | 10% | Included vs paid audit assistance, representation vs guidance, and statute-of-limitations window covered. |
| Usability | 15% | Interview vs forms mode, import from payroll providers, prior-year import, mobile support, and accessibility compliance. |
| Support & Live Help | 10% | Availability of CPAs or EAs, response times during peak season, and clarity of what each tier includes for live help. |
Evidence we collect
- Per-plan form list captured from vendor plan pages and help center articles with retrieval dates.
- Checkout walkthroughs for fixed scenarios — single W-2 filer, freelancer with Schedule C, investor with Schedule D, and multi-state filer.
- Guarantee policy text cross-checked against the claims in marketing copy.
- Support response timing during peak season test windows.
- Security posture — MFA options, IRS e-file authentication handling, and incident history.
Products in this program
TurboTax
H&R Block
TaxSlayer
TaxAct
FreeTaxUSA
Cash App Taxes
Jackson Hewitt
Liberty Tax
eFile.com
OLT Online Taxes
See the current ranked comparison →
Update cadence
Full annual re-evaluation before the tax season begins, with an interim check mid-season to capture price changes and product updates during peak filing window.
How this category scores changed recently
- Raised weight on true price after upsells after documenting mid-flow tier bumps on multiple products.
- Separated audit defense add-ons from the base-plan scoring after several vendors moved audit help behind a paid bolt-on.
- Added a multi-state filer scenario because remote work meaningfully changed the reader profile.