Filing Your Taxes for Less

You may be able to file your taxes for free. There are varying qualifications, but the IRS has a complete listing of free file companies on their website. However, note that it's only the federal filing that is free in many cases, and you may still have to pay to file your state return. TaxSlayer, however, offers a number of free state filings as well, including South Carolina.


If you aren't eligible to free file, or you have a more complicated return, you'll probably want to look into other options. We chose to use TurboTax because it was very easy to use.

TurboTax Original Cost: $111.90

TurboTax Final Cost: $44.95

Savings: $66.95

I have a sole-proprietorship, so at first glance at the TurboTax website I would need the Home & Business version ($74.95 federal, plus an additional $36.95 for state) but after some research I discovered that the Deluxe, Premier and Home & Business include all of the same forms, the only thing that is different is the level of help you get. That means I can get the Deluxe version ($29.95 Federal, $36.95 state).

Then I discovered that you can download the software and pay less overall. ($59.95 for both)

Then, the final kicker - if you go to www.BankofAmerica.com and use their search bar to search for TurboTax, it brings up an ad for 35% off (you don't need to be a bank customer.) Click through and it will bring you to a discount page for TurboTax. There is no difference in price for the online version, but the downloaded version is now $44.95.

*Update! TurboTax at Costco currently has a $10 rebate making the Deluxe software $39.

Here's to hoping you get a refund!