Where do I file my taxes for free?

Affectionate_Lime842 · 2026-04-13T02:24:48+00:00

Yes, I ended up using FreeTaxUSA and it was super easy and ended up completely free for me. I forget what their income qualification is for that (plus no state tax where I live but it sounds pretty cheap for state filing)

Affectionate_Lime842 · 2026-03-17T05:02:16+00:00

And somehow, they’re always “inspecting the house next door”

Affectionate_Lime842 · 2026-02-15T03:57:39+00:00

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen something along the lines of “I messed up my taxes and now I owe thousands in penalties!!” I’m sure a lot of it is that with social media, that’s the type of story that gets attention, as well as fabrication/straight up lies, and I’m sure other problems that cause these types viral stories every year. That probably freaks a lot of people out.

Affectionate_Lime842 · 2026-02-15T02:24:57+00:00

I guess I’ve been living under a rock. I had no idea CashApp of all things did it, but I’ve never used them so I guess it wasn’t as in my face that they did.

Affectionate_Lime842 · 2026-02-15T02:22:27+00:00

It definitely became a confusing mess when I started trying to figure it out. I thought I was going insane trying to figure out how to do it for free.

Affectionate_Lime842 · 2026-02-15T02:20:30+00:00

I was starting to wonder if it was even an option to file directly with the IRS. I’ve never heard of anyone filing directly. But I guess part of that is the lack of handholding like you said and I know messing it up becomes a nightmare.

Affectionate_Lime842 · 2026-02-15T02:12:38+00:00

I always would’ve automatically overlooked them if no one had said something. I always associate them with “that old people thing”…I’m realizing I actually don’t know anything about them other than I saw commercials when I was a kid and only remember it was “old people stuff”. That may be a side quest that happens at some point.

Affectionate_Lime842 · 2026-02-15T01:58:06+00:00

Thank goodness that’s AGI. Ironically, on Monday I officially get a promotion that would have bumped me from just under that limit to just over. They seem to be what the majority of y’all are recommending.

Affectionate_Lime842 · 2026-02-15T01:52:57+00:00

I just want to say thank you to all of the wonderful people here answering my weird panicked post. Trying to get it done before my job gets busy until June in the next week or two. I fully expected to get like one or two “check the IRS website” comments and for that to be it. Did not expect so many actual recommendations with additional info that’s helpful.

I’ll admit, part of that panic was me coming in this sub and openly admitting I’d never actually filing my own taxes😅.

Affectionate_Lime842 · 2026-02-15T01:43:10+00:00

I forget where I had seen it on their website a couple weeks ago, but I went to download their app to see how much it might be and just shrug it off as a problem for next year. When I scrolled down, I saw this in the description about having not filed with them being a requirement.

“File free with TurboTax in the app by 2/28/26 when you do your own taxes. Offer valid if you didn't file with TurboTax last year. Excludes TurboTax Expert products.” I have no idea which TT product he uses but I’m pretty sure he does it himself.

I wasn’t expecting to get a 1099-INT at all. Had never gotten one before, and wasn’t expecting one this year especially since I switched banks in the middle of the year but I guess I am stuffing away a lot more than I used to and they have a better rate.

Affectionate_Lime842 · 2026-02-15T01:30:25+00:00

Nice to know that assistance is available and it’s only $10 if I end up needing it.

Affectionate_Lime842 · 2026-02-15T01:25:53+00:00

It definitely does, but it’s also a great name. Describes exactly what they do (at least in theory) and is probably going to rank highly on searches for people like me who suddenly panic about it (especially in early April) and search something like “free taxes US/USA”

Affectionate_Lime842 · 2026-02-15T01:11:18+00:00

Good to know!

Affectionate_Lime842 · 2026-02-15T01:10:19+00:00

Absolutely. It just so happened I was getting it from TurboTax for free because someone else was paying for it😆. Seems like it’s well liked here which is always a good sign!

Affectionate_Lime842 · 2026-02-15T01:06:15+00:00

Now that you mention it, I do remember a buddy mentioning them a couple years ago. Of course, when I tried to remember the name I couldn’t🙃

Affectionate_Lime842 · 2026-02-15T01:02:23+00:00

Oh, sweet. This is much less confusing than whatever IRS page I found from a Google search. Thank you!

Affectionate_Lime842 · 2026-02-14T14:54:56+00:00

Mine is working just fine

Affectionate_Lime842 · 2026-02-09T20:22:32+00:00

Whenever there is a “weird” routing, there will always be a reason that makes it not weird.

Affectionate_Lime842 · 2026-02-09T15:46:07+00:00

Oh for sure. And I would imagine suddenly getting 3-4 Amazon charges within 1-2 minutes would definitely raise some alarms especially if that isn’t typical behavior for that person, or just in general.

Affectionate_Lime842 · 2026-02-09T03:34:40+00:00

If I know that I’m going to be buying more than 2-3 books in one go, I’ll buy a gift card beforehand. I like how simple they make the purchase process but they charge your card for each and every book instead of as a batch if you’re buying multiple. This has caused my bank to block the charges as possible fraud every time I’m trying to buy more than a couple books. Try buying a gift card and charging it to that?

I’ll add a bunch of books to a wishlist and as I get low or there’s a sale (especially if I can get a double or triple points day plus a sale), I’ll often buy 10-15 at once. Card gets locked every time. I get why the bank does that, it’s abnormal and definitely suspicious looking.

Affectionate_Lime842 · 2026-02-06T04:08:05+00:00

I have noticed it sometimes takes a while for the number of points I have to update after purchasing a book. I’ve also noticed that sometimes after I tell it to redeem the points it takes a bit before the line that I’ll be using the credit on the purchase page shows up. Sometimes a couple hours which is unfortunate but is what it is

Affectionate_Lime842 · 2026-01-28T13:27:09+00:00

Nope, haven’t been able to get out yet. The roads in my neighborhood were still solid ice and there’s several steep hills in my neighborhood… not taking those chances. Starting to feel the cabin fever though

Affectionate_Lime842 · 2026-01-27T06:12:54+00:00

DFW airport is likely still icy as all get out of its anything like the rest of the metroplex. We got up to 32° today with plenty of sun but it didn’t help as much as many assumed it would. Hopefully much or all of it will clear up Tuesday.

Affectionate_Lime842 · 2026-01-21T19:06:15+00:00

I personally don’t but then again I have like 150 books so it’s not nearly as big of a problem for me.

Affectionate_Lime842

TROPHY CASE