TaxSlayer Review 2024: Gets The Job Done At An Affordable Price

TaxSlayer has its headquarters in Augusta, Georgia. Its parent company began as a family-owned tax preparation business in 1965. In 1992, the company started marketing its tax preparation software to professional tax preparers and accountants nationwide. It launched its software for do-it-yourself tax filers in 1998.

TaxSlayer makes filing a return easy for people who don’t want a lot of hand-holding. If you know what types of income you need to report and which deductions and credits you can claim, you don’t have to navigate dozens of unnecessary interview screens. You can simply skip ahead to the sections you need.

If you need more help, the software questions can guide you through the sections related to your tax situation. You can also upgrade to a higher-priced package to get help from a tax professional.

TaxSlayer allows users to answer questions so that the software can guide them to the proper forms or to navigate directly to the sections they need to complete.

This range of options makes TaxSlayer good tax software for people who want to try filing independently but might also need help if they have questions or get stuck.

Other people who might benefit from using TaxSlayer include:

• Students. They’re likely to qualify for free filing.
• Self-employed individuals. TaxSlayer’s Classic edition includes all tax forms, including Schedule C for reporting income from a business or freelance work, Schedule E for income from a rental or pass-through entity and Schedule F for farming. Most other software tools require users to upgrade to a more expensive package to file Schedule C. With TaxSlayer, upgrading to the Self-Employed version is optional and includes additional guidance and support from a tax expert.

Preparing your tax return online with TaxSlayer can be fast and convenient if you know what you’re doing, but it will likely take more time if you need help.

There are some “Learn More” links embedded in the interview screens and a searchable knowledge base, but if you get stuck along the way and need help from a tax pro, you’ll have to upgrade to the Premium or Self-Employed versions to get assistance. Support is available via live chat, phone or email.

Note that while TaxSlayer refers to its customer support team as “tax pros,” team members aren’t necessarily certified public accountants (CPAs), enrolled agents (EAs) or tax attorneys. TaxSlayer likes its tax pros to have some experience working in accounting or tax. Still, the only training and certification they receive comes from the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program and TaxSlayer’s in-house software training.

The VITA program covers preparing federal income tax returns and claiming tax deductions and credits. If you have a complicated tax return or need in-depth tax advice, your support options might be limited with TaxSlayer.

And while you can upload a PDF of last year’s return, you can’t import or upload W-2s or 1099s like you can in TurboTax and H&R Block. You have to enter the information manually.

As part of my review, I went through the process of preparing three sample returns. Here’s how long it took me to get from start to filing for each one:

• Single taxpayer, no dependents, W-2 income and the student loan interest deduction: 13 minutes
• Married couple filing jointly, one dependent, two W-2s, child tax credit and child and dependent care credit: 14 minutes
• Single taxpayer, no dependents, self-employment income, federal and state estimated tax payments: 15 minutes

Of all the tax filing software I’ve tested so far this year, TaxSlayer allowed me to complete these sample returns the fastest.

As an experienced tax professional, I know which sections I need to complete precisely. Still, I enjoyed that TaxSlayer let me find exactly what I needed without searching around or answering questions that didn’t apply to the return as I did in TurboTax.

I also appreciate that TaxSlayer isn’t too heavy-handed with its upselling. While working on the easiest of the three returns—the one that qualified for free filing—I didn’t encounter any offers to upgrade.

And I only saw one upsell while working on the other two returns. When I began entering business-related expenses for the sample return with self-employment income, a pop-up screen asked if I wanted to upgrade to TaxSlayer Self-Employed.

TaxSlayer offers a few add-on features for greater peace of mind.

• Audit defense. The optional audit defense feature gives you three years of assistance from TaxSlayer’s tax support team if your return triggers an IRS audit. TaxSlayer will provide the services of an IRS enrolled agent who can provide guidance and review your correspondence with the auditor.
• SecurelyID. TaxSlayer partners with SecurelyID to provide identity protection services to its customers. For a fee, the company offers credit monitoring, identity theft restoration assistance and other features to help protect against tax identity theft year-round.

These upsells are easily declined if you don’t want the add-on features.

TaxSlayer does offer some add-on features for a price, but they’re easy to decline if you’re not interested.

TaxSlayer Fees & Costs

TaxSlayer offers four packages based on your income level, tax situation and desired level of support. These prices reflect the list prices advertised as of April 11, 2024.

The pricing options are:

Package	Price	Includes
Simply Free	$0	Free filing of federal and one state return Only available for filers who are single or married filing jointly, with taxable income under $100,000 and no dependents Allows reporting of wages, salaries, unemployment and taxable interest under $1,500 Allows standard deduction, education credits and student loan interest
Classic	$37.95	Includes all IRS forms, credits and deductions with no restrictions State return costs an additional $44.95
Premium	$57.95	Covers all IRS forms, credits, and deductions with no restrictions Includes priority phone and email support, live chat and access to a tax pro State return costs an additional $44.95
Self-Employed	$67.95	Additional guidance while entering business income and expenses to maximize deductions Unlimited phone, email and live chat support and access to a tax pro with self-employment expertise Audit defense and representation from a tax pro in the event of an IRS audit for three years Tax payment reminders State return costs an additional $44.95

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If you’re not sure which version you need, you can always start with the Simply Free edition. While preparing your return, if you try to add income, deductions, or tax credits not allowed by your version, the software automatically bumps you to the Classic edition.

If you want to pay your filing fee out of your federal refund, TaxSlayer has partnered with a third-party bank to offer this option. It will cost you $39.99.

TaxSlayer Security

TaxSlayer has several safeguards designed to protect customers’ sensitive information, including:

• Multi-layer authentication. To log into TaxSlayer, you’ll need to provide a username, a password and a single-use verification code sent to your mobile phone or email.
• Secure technologies. The company uses firewalls, intrusion detection systems and encryption to protect access to user information.

TaxSlayer is available online at TaxSlayer.com. If you want to file taxes on your mobile device, you can download the mobile app from the App Store or Google Play.

TaxSlayer’s pricing is reasonable, but if you need further guidance with your tax return and want the help of a professional, its service can be somewhat limited compared to the competition.

TaxSlayer vs TurboTax

TaxSlayer’s pricing is lower for do-it-yourself tax preparation than TurboTax. TaxSlayer charges up to $67.95 for federal tax filing ($44.95 per state), compared to TurboTax’s maximum of $129 for federal tax filing ($64 per state) for its costliest DIY tax package.

TaxSlayer vs TaxAct

While the TaxSlayer Premium and Self-Employed options provide expert assistance, TaxSlayer’s “tax pros” aren’t necessarily certified public accountants (CPAs) or enrolled agents. These “tax pros” have only training and certification from the IRS VITA program, plus other in-house training.

TaxAct provides professional tax expert assistance from CPAs, enrolled agents and tax attorneys at no additional cost—even if you’re using the free version of the software.

TaxSlayer vs H&R Block

If you get stuck while preparing your return in TaxSlayer, you can upgrade to the Premium or Self-Employed version to get assistance via live chat, phone or email. However, this assistance is limited to guidance only—TaxSlayer’s tax pros can’t take over filing for you.

With H&R Block, you can get help from a tax pro virtually, make an appointment at an H&R Block office, or drop off your tax documents at a local office to have a tax pro do the filing for you (for an additional fee).

Learn more about Forbes Advisor Taxes Rating and Review Methodology.