A large share of American households could file for nothing and pay for it anyway. Some of that is marketing, and some of it is that the free programmes are genuinely poorly publicised. Here is what exists, with the eligibility rules that actually decide whether it applies to you.
VITA and TCE: real preparers, no charge
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance programme offers free preparation to people below an income threshold, people with disabilities and taxpayers with limited English. Tax Counseling for the Elderly focuses on taxpayers aged 60 and over, with an emphasis on pensions and retirement issues. Both are IRS-sponsored, volunteers are trained and certified annually, and every return is quality reviewed by a second person.
Sites operate in libraries, community centres, colleges and churches, mostly between late January and April. Find one through the IRS locator for free tax return preparation for qualifying taxpayers. Appointments fill up: book in January, not March.
IRS Free File
Free File is a partnership between the IRS and commercial software companies. If your adjusted gross income is under the published threshold, you can use guided software free. Above the threshold, Free File Fillable Forms are available to anyone: electronic versions of the paper forms with basic arithmetic, no guidance, and no income limit.
One rule matters more than any other: enter through the IRS website. Starting at a company's own site can land you on a paid product with a similar name and no way back to the free version mid-return.
Military and veterans
MilTax, offered through the Department of Defense, provides free tax software and consultants who understand combat pay, permanent change of station moves and multi-state residency questions. There is no income limit. Details are at Military OneSource, and many installations also host VITA sites staffed by people used to service-specific issues.
Low Income Taxpayer Clinics
These are not for preparation, they are for disputes. Clinics run by law schools, universities and legal aid organisations represent qualifying taxpayers in audits, appeals and collection cases for free or a nominal fee, and provide education for taxpayers who speak English as a second language. The programme is described by the Taxpayer Advocate Service. If you have a real controversy and a modest income, this is a considerably better option than most paid alternatives.
Doing it yourself
If your return is a W-2, the standard deduction and maybe some bank interest, the return itself is genuinely simple and any competent software will produce the same figure a preparer would. Check the number first with our income tax estimator, then decide whether you are paying for a calculation or for confidence.
Watch two things when comparing paid products. State returns are usually priced separately, and the advertised free tier often stops the moment your return includes a common form. Read what triggers an upgrade before you start entering data.
Free is not always the cheapest outcome
There is a category of filer for whom paying is straightforwardly the better decision: first year of self-employment, a rental property, an equity grant that vested, a move between states, an inheritance, or any year with an event you have not dealt with before. A single correctly handled item can be worth several times the fee. Our guide on what preparation costs covers where that line usually falls.
Whichever route you take
- File electronically and choose direct deposit. It is faster and it eliminates the most common processing errors.
- Check the return before you sign. Names, Social Security numbers, bank details.
- Keep a complete copy, including the schedules, and know how long to keep it.
- If you are getting a very large refund every year, your withholding is set too high. The withholding checkup will show you the adjustment.