Forbes Advisor Taxes Rating and Review Methodology

At Forbes Advisor, our mission is to provide the information and tools you need to make smart decisions and reach your financial goals. To help you make good choices, we aim to pass along what our experts know in a clear and uncomplicated way so you can quickly get back to doing what’s most important to you.

Our editorial team is independent, objective and trustworthy. Though we are supported by advertisers, our ratings and reviews are driven by strict methodologies, and our researchers, reporters and editors are never influenced by our sponsors.

This methodology applies only to Forbes Advisor Taxes content.

To find the best tax software and apps for various tax situations, we assess the leading products in the market. We test and rate each one, focusing on these four categories:

	Price We prefer software with at least one free filing option. If the software doesn’t offer that, we look at the cost of filing a federal tax return and one state tax return.
	Value for your money We examine the capabilities of the software’s standard do-it-yourself version and consider the price and worth of any add-on features.
	Ease of use We evaluate how logical, clear and helpful the interface is, particularly its interview-style guidance. We also look for flexibility that enables users to skip parts of the process they don’t need.
	Customer service options and quality We consider the quantity and robustness of help channels (phone, chat, email, text, live conversation). We also assess the value of other resources, such as linked explanations and FAQs.

Star Ratings Methodology for Best Software and Apps

Members of our editorial and data research teams test each software product and score it for all the above categories. The category scores are weighted by importance and then added up; the total score is expressed as a star rating from one to five. All software products are then ranked based on their star ratings.

Price is a primary consideration. We prefer software packages that offer a free filing option or charge minimal fees.

We identify everyday taxpayer situations that the best tax software should process easily, and we use those as test cases to assess the software’s performance. We also note special filing concerns for taxpayers with particular needs—freelancers, for example—and test the software’s handling of those issues.

In each case, we evaluate the software’s capabilities and features, then calculate its category scores and star rating.

Best Tax Software

To rate the best tax software overall, we test the software packages that offer free or low-cost filing. We examine these packages to see how smoothly and easily they could handle three sample tax scenarios. We test each product’s ability to support tax returns with deductions such as student loan interest and credits for earned income, education and childcare expenses. We score each software package in the four categories outlined earlier:

• Free filing options. What are the income limits and other criteria for accessing the software’s free version?
• Price. When the taxpayer can’t use the free filing option, how much does it cost to file federal and state returns?
• Ease of use. Does the software use interview-style questions? Can users upload documents and file a simple return in less than 30 minutes? How many upselling attempts does the software make?
• Customer service options and quality. How many channels are there for customers to ask questions? How helpful and extensive are the answers? Can users get expert help for free?

Best Tax Software for the Self-Employed

Freelancers and sole proprietors can benefit from tax software that helps them identify possible deductions and estimate their quarterly taxes. We score these software packages in the following weighted categories:

Best Tax Software for Small Businesses

We created a profile for a small business owner with business income and tax deductions to test the software’s ability to handle complicated returns. In scoring, this category echoes the methodology for self-employed taxpayers. The weighted scoring breakdown is as follows:

Best Tax Apps

Taxpayers who want to use a phone or tablet to file their returns need to know which apps can best do the job. Devices pose special challenges, such as limited screen space and vulnerable Wi-Fi connections, and tax apps need to overcome the challenges and work well for complex filings and simple ones. We score the apps on these weighted factors:

Best Crypto Tax Software

Crypto investors need software that can track capital gains and losses, transaction dates, and the particulars of each trade. Extra credit goes to software that will easily import transaction records. We rate tax software for crypto holders using this weighted scoring breakdown:

The Forbes Advisor taxes team comprises reporter and taxes expert Kemberley Washington, CPA, and lead editor Caren Weiner.

Each of our tax stories undergoes a rigorous vetting process.  At least two staff editors give each story a thorough editorial review and fact-check. Kemberley Washington also reviews articles from freelance writers. Once an edited article has been formatted for our website, the initial editor examines the copy once more before publication.

This means each tax article is reviewed up to four times before publication to ensure accuracy.

Editorial Updates

We strive to provide reliable and up-to-date information. The Forbes Advisor editorial team reviews our tax product data and methodology-based studies at least once a month to ensure that the pricing and other facts are still valid, and we make changes where necessary. We want to feel confident about the accuracy of our information so you can be confident that our advice is well-researched, sound and unimpeachable.

Our editors are committed to bringing you unbiased ratings and information. Our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and companies so all are measured equally. You can read more about our editorial guidelines as well.

Some additional background on our tax software ratings:

• 9 tax software providers checked
• 4 or more scoring categories determined the top picks
• 20 years of tax experience for the author