I gave Credit Karma Tax a try this year. I mostly liked it, but did find one serious deficiency compared to others I've used. It did not handle the deduction for state income tax nearly as well.
The IRS allows deducting either the actual sales taxes you have paid, or you can use a standard amount based on your AGI and your state and local tax rates.
Most other software I've used knows about this. If you enter your actual amount (or 0 if you do not know the actual amount) they compare to the standard amount and go with which is higher.
CKT just goes with what you enter. If you ask for help on that item it doesn't even mention the existence of a standard amount. It just says fill in the amount you get from adding your receipts.
No data obviously, but several people in my group have mentioned that they ran into (software) bugs with your tax filing software. You might want to look into that. I love your service, so I hope the tax service takes off as well!
I've looked at Credit Karma tax free, but I'm a bit nervous as I own a California LLC (100% sole owner), and also have capital gains, dividends, write-offs.
Is Credit Karma a good choice for more complicated returns? Last year I paid H&R $650 for literally one hour of time which infuriated me.
I just did my taxes with them, and it does have some support for business income and loss, so I think in your case (pass-thru entity) you may be okay- I didn't have to use this section this year as all of my income came from my salaried position this year, so I can't ssay for sure how it works.
For tax purposes, a Single-Member LLC can be treated as a disregarded entity (i.e. similar to a sole proprietorship - all the business income and expenses go on your personal return).
You can file for free at any income level; you just get software assistance if you make less than a certain amount. I file with Free File Fillable Forms, which does the calculations for me, I just have to be comfortable filling in the inputs to the form (and I'm paranoid enough that I want to be reading the form and its instructions anyway). But I don't have complicated deductions... or at least, I don't think I do.
Let's start with that fact that <$64K AGI is the high end and not applicable to all online filing services. The state that you're filing in and even your age are used as filters for qualification as well.
Then how about the fact that offerings are only applicable if you're filing 1040EZ. For example, if you so much as claim student loan interest or itemize deductions, that's automatically 1040A at a minimim and disqualifies you from the free offering.
Then there's actually getting your tax return. If you don't provide an ACH bank account and routing number, you'll get charged to have your return credited. You'll also be solicited to purchase crap like bonds, insurance, or donate to some charity. Another common tactic to nibble away at your return is to offer to get paid by the service provider (as opposed to the IRS) for an upfront cost. I won't even touch on the dark patterns employed in this process.
To e-file, you'll also need to know your prior year's AGI or PIN. This is important when coupled with a model which tries to get people to "push and forget" without keeping any independent documentation. There's no doubt in my mind that many people go back to same provider not because of superior service or competitive offerings, but because their information from the previous year will automatically be pulled to enable e-filing. If you weren't diligent enough to keep good records and want to try a different provider, you'll be charged for a digital copy of your previous years' filings.
what a hilarious combination of informative and dickish... i... dont know what to make of that. thank... you?
i asked because ive used the free offerings and there were absolutely no headaches. there is nothing wrong with asking someone else a question like the one i asked you, you insane person.
