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5 best TurboTax Self-Employed alternatives

Nicolas StrautBy Nicolas StrautUpdated 9 min read

Key takeaways

  • Do It Yourself Premium, the TurboTax tier that any 1099-NEC or business income puts you on, costs $139 federal. Intuit does not display a state fee anywhere in page text.1 Its Premium page lists the state return only as "State additional," with no price.
  • TurboTax's free tier excludes 1099-NEC and business income outright, and Intuit publishes no state price, no online Audit Defense price, and no MAX bundle price.
  • The best TurboTax Premium alternatives are FreeTaxUSA and Cash App Taxes, since both file the identical Schedule C for a fraction of the price: $15.99 with one state at FreeTaxUSA2, nothing at all at Cash App Taxes.3
In this article

Intuit renamed the TurboTax tier that handles a Schedule C from TurboTax Self-Employed to TurboTax Premium. The $139 federal price isn't the total, because the state fee doesn't appear anywhere in page text. If you're a 1099 contractor or freelancer pricing TurboTax Premium vs something cheaper, the five alternatives below file the identical Schedule C for a fraction of the cost. This guide is only for people leaving TurboTax. Others can start with the best tax software for the self-employed.

Why you need to consider a TurboTax alternative

TurboTax works, but you'll end up paying for parts of it you don't use. TurboTax's free tier excludes 1099-NEC and business income, so one freelance gig puts you on a paid tier. Intuit never says what that tier costs once a state return is added. Two of Intuit's own pages don't agree on where the Expert Assist tier's price floor sits. CNET's testing found that Snap and Autofill, the import feature pitched for 1099-NEC and 1099-K, needs manual entry for both forms anyway.7 Those are the only two forms every self-employed filer has.

TurboTax Premium fits two kinds of filers: investors and crypto traders whose brokerage import saves hours, and first-year freelancers who want guided help. If your return is a straightforward Schedule C, the higher price pays for the interface, not a different result at the bottom of the form. We cover who those filers are in our full TurboTax Premium review.

Best TurboTax alternatives at a glance

Scroll horizontally to see more columns.
AlternativeFederalStateTotal, one stateFree Schedule C?
Cash App Taxes3$0$0$0Yes
FreeTaxUSA2$0$15.99$15.99Yes
TaxSlayer Self-Employed4$74.99$47.99$122.98No
TaxAct Self-Employed5$109.99$64.99$174.98No
H&R Block Self-Employed6$130$49$179No
TurboTax Premium1$139 to $149Not publishedNot computableNo

Every figure here was read from the vendor's own pricing page. TurboTax is the only incomplete row, because Intuit doesn't publish a state price.

Prices are current as of publish and subject to change during the filing season.

Best TurboTax alternatives for the self-employed

Best for straightforward 1099 filing: FreeTaxUSA

Ideal for

1099 contractors and freelancers who want the exact same Schedule C TurboTax produces, without paying for import or hand-holding.

Our take

FreeTaxUSA is the direct substitute for most 1099 filers. FreeTaxUSA files the same schedules for a fraction of the cost, with weaker import. You'll pay $15.99, vs $139 to $149 plus an undisclosed state fee at TurboTax. You give up import and guided help, not accuracy.

The weaker import only costs you something if you have brokerage or crypto activity to import. A filer with one or two 1099-NEC forms and no investment account gives up nothing, because TurboTax would have no brokerage or crypto data to import either.

Of the five alternatives here, FreeTaxUSA is built for the same core case as TurboTax Premium: a Schedule C filer. Our FreeTaxUSA vs TurboTax comparison covers the two side by side. FreeTaxUSA lacks TurboTax's guided interview and investor-specific import. Start with FreeTaxUSA unless you need what one of the other four offers: a separate business product, an in-person office, or a fully free return.

Scroll horizontally to see more columns.
SpecFreeTaxUSA
CategoryTax software
Federal$0
State$15.99
Total, one state$15.99
Free Schedule C?Yes

Pros

  • Total cost of $15.99 with one state included, vs TurboTax's $139 to $149 plus an undisclosed fee.
  • Produces the same Schedule C forms as TurboTax Premium.
  • Federal filing is $0, so the entire cost is the single $15.99 state return.

Cons

  • Weaker import than TurboTax for brokerage statements and crypto transactions.
  • Less interview hand-holding for filers who don't already know the vocabulary.
  • No brokerage or crypto import pipeline, so investors and traders get the least value here.

Best free option: Cash App Taxes

Ideal for

Single-state filers without unusual forms who want a fully free option.

Our take

Cash App Taxes is free federal and state, best suited to a single-state return without unusual forms.

Cash App Taxes sells one product at one price, while TurboTax has five tiers and FreeTaxUSA charges for the state return. There's nothing to upgrade into and no add-on prompts at checkout. That also limits Cash App Taxes: a filer who needs a second state return, a more complex form, or guided help is better served by one of the other four products here.

Cash App Taxes and FreeTaxUSA are the two cheapest options on this list, and the $15.99 price difference matters less than the difference in coverage. FreeTaxUSA covers a second state and more form types, while Cash App Taxes covers one state and a plain Schedule C.

Scroll horizontally to see more columns.
SpecCash App Taxes
CategoryTax software
Federal$0
State$0
Total, one state$0
Free Schedule C?Yes

Pros

  • $0 total: federal and one state, no upgrade tiers.
  • Same free Schedule C support as FreeTaxUSA.
  • No add-on fees or refund-processing charges to track.

Cons

  • Best suited to a single-state return without unusual forms, the trade-off for $0.
  • No brokerage or crypto import, which is where TurboTax Premium is strongest.
  • A first-time filer who does not know the vocabulary gets little guidance beyond the forms.

Best mid-priced option: TaxSlayer Self-Employed

Ideal for

Filers who want a mid-priced option between the free tier and TurboTax.

Our take

TaxSlayer sits in the middle of this list at $122.98 total for federal and one state, which undercuts TurboTax's $139 federal-only price before any state fee is added.

TaxSlayer is positioned closer to TurboTax than to the free options. TaxSlayer offers a guided interview, aimed at filers who want some guidance without paying for investor-tier import. That is a narrow niche between the two free products and TurboTax Premium.

TaxSlayer's $122.98 total is already most of the way to TurboTax's $139 federal price. Choose TaxSlayer over FreeTaxUSA's $15.99 or TurboTax's import if you want the middle-ground guided interview. TaxSlayer won't save you a large amount of money.

Scroll horizontally to see more columns.
SpecTaxSlayer Self-Employed
CategoryTax software
Federal$74.99
State$47.99
Total, one state$122.98
Free Schedule C?No

Pros

  • $122.98 total, federal and one state, comes in under TurboTax's federal price alone.
  • Sits at the mid-point between the free options and TurboTax Premium.
  • Handles a standard Schedule C and publishes its state price, unlike TurboTax.

Cons

  • Not the cheapest option on this list; FreeTaxUSA and Cash App Taxes both cost less.
  • No pass-through entity support for S corps or partnerships.
  • No brokerage or crypto import comparable to TurboTax Premium's.

Best if you also need a business return: TaxAct Self-Employed

Ideal for

Filers with a personal Schedule C who may also need TaxAct's separate business product for a partnership or S corp return.

Our take

TaxAct Self-Employed costs $174.98 total for federal and one state. TaxAct sells a separate downloadable business product for partnership and S corp returns. Its Self-Employed online tier covers the same Schedule C as the others.

That matters to freelancers who've formed an S corp, often to reduce self-employment tax on their own pay. The S corp return itself goes through TaxAct's separate business product, not the Self-Employed online tier, so price both before you choose.

For anyone without an S corp or partnership, though, TaxAct's $174.98 buys the exact same Schedule C the other alternatives already handle for less, some of them for a fraction of the price.

Scroll horizontally to see more columns.
SpecTaxAct Self-Employed
CategoryTax software
Federal$109.99
State$64.99
Total, one state$174.98
Free Schedule C?No

Pros

  • TaxAct sells a separate downloadable business product if you also need a partnership or S corp return.
  • Handles a standard Schedule C, the same as the other alternatives.
  • Federal and state pricing is published upfront, unlike TurboTax's undisclosed state fee.

Cons

  • The second most expensive alternative here, after H&R Block.
  • No brokerage or crypto import pipeline.
  • The Self-Employed online tier doesn't prepare partnership or S corp returns; that takes the separate business product.

Best for in-person help: H&R Block Self-Employed

Ideal for

Filers who want the option of walking into a physical office alongside the software.

Our take

H&R Block is the closest match to TurboTax on interface, and it adds the option of walking into a physical office, at $179 for one state.

H&R Block lets you start online and hand the return to someone in one of its offices. TurboTax also sells in-person help, but only by moving up to its Expert Full Service tier.

At $179, it's also the most expensive alternative on this list, more than TurboTax's own $139 federal price before any state fee is added. The higher price pays for the office visit and an interface familiar to someone switching from TurboTax, not a lower total cost.

Scroll horizontally to see more columns.
SpecH&R Block Self-Employed
CategoryTax software
Federal$130
State$49
Total, one state$179
Free Schedule C?No

Pros

  • The option to walk into a physical office if you want in-person help.
  • Interface closest to TurboTax's among the alternatives here.
  • The state fee is published: H&R Block's $49 is on the pricing page, unlike TurboTax's state fee.

Cons

  • The most expensive alternative on this list at $179 total.
  • No pass-through entity support for S corps or partnerships.
  • Import for brokerage or crypto trades does not match TurboTax's pipeline either.

Also worth knowing about

Keeper is a different category: a bookkeeping subscription with tax filing attached, at $199 a year instead of a per-return fee. Keeper is not a direct replacement for TurboTax. Our Keeper review covers what the subscription buys. QuickBooks Self-Employed has been superseded by QuickBooks Solopreneur, but Intuit hasn't announced a discontinuation date and a QBSE sign-in still works.

Methodology

  • Every price above was read directly from each vendor's own pricing page, not from a comparison table or a coupon site. No software was purchased or filed through, so nothing here reflects hands-on testing of the interview flow or the accuracy of any product's math.
  • Products were weighted on three fields: total cost for a federal return plus one state, whether the free tier covers a Schedule C, and how much import and guided hand-holding the product offers over a blank form.
  • TurboTax Premium's own price appears as published. We call out Intuit's undisclosed state fee and don't estimate it, since Intuit doesn't publish one and third-party figures from past seasons may not hold.

How to choose a TurboTax alternative

  1. Start with whether you need brokerage or crypto import. If you don't, TurboTax's main advantage over the cheaper options here disappears.
  2. Add up the total cost for your actual state, not just the federal price. FreeTaxUSA and Cash App Taxes both publish their state fee, while TurboTax doesn't.
  3. Check whether the product handles your specific business structure. Every option here is built around a personal Schedule C. For a partnership or S corp return, TaxAct sells a separate downloadable business product.
  4. Decide how much guided interview help you want. FreeTaxUSA and Cash App Taxes assume more familiarity with tax vocabulary than TurboTax or H&R Block do.

What to consider before switching from TurboTax

Switching mid-return is possible, but no competitor imports an in-progress TurboTax file, so you'd re-enter your data from scratch. Keep that in mind when you're deciding how late in the season to make the move. Downgrading within TurboTax itself, rather than switching products, is also awkward: CNET reports that moving from Premium to Deluxe requires routing through Free Edition first, not a direct one-tier step down.7 Compare total costs, not just the sticker price, before you commit either way. Our TurboTax Premium review has the full pricing breakdown by tier.

Run your numbers before you switch

Whichever alternative you pick, the software won't tell you what to send the IRS next quarter. Run your numbers through the Solvent quarterly tax estimator.

Frequently asked questions about TurboTax alternatives

Can I switch to another product after I have started a TurboTax return?

Switching mid-return is possible, but no competitor imports an in-progress TurboTax file, so you re-enter your data from scratch. Downgrading within TurboTax is also awkward: CNET reports that moving from Premium to Deluxe requires routing through Free Edition first. Compare total costs before you start.

Which TurboTax alternative is completely free?

Cash App Taxes is the only fully free option on this list: $0 federal and $0 state for a Schedule C return. FreeTaxUSA is close behind at $15.99 total with one state included.

Do any TurboTax alternatives handle S corp or partnership returns?

TaxAct sells a separate downloadable business product for partnership and S corp returns, and its Self-Employed online tier covers the same Schedule C as the others. TurboTax Premium itself doesn't prepare these returns. See our TurboTax Premium review for what Premium does cover.

Is Keeper a real TurboTax alternative?

Not directly. Keeper is a bookkeeping subscription with filing attached at $199 a year, a different category from a per-return tax product like TurboTax or the alternatives above.

How much can switching from TurboTax Premium save?

Switching from TurboTax Premium saves up to its $139 to $149 federal price plus an undisclosed state fee. Cash App Taxes costs $0 and FreeTaxUSA costs $15.99 for the identical Schedule C.

About the author

Nicolas Straut

Nicolas Straut

Personal and business finance writer, former Forbes contributor

Nicolas Straut writes about self-employment and quarterly tax, LLC formation and costs, and tax software for Solvent. He has written about money for about ten years, including for the fintech companies NorthOne and Fundera. He files his own taxes as a freelancer. He isn't a CPA or an enrolled agent (EA).

More articles by Nicolas Straut →
Solvent provides educational estimates, not tax advice. Confirm your specific situation with a qualified tax professional.

Sources

  1. https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/online/premium/
  2. https://www.freetaxusa.com/pricing/
  3. https://cash.app/taxes
  4. https://www.taxslayer.com/products/taxslayer-self-employment-taxes/
  5. https://www.taxact.com/taxes-online/file-your-own-taxes/self-employed-tax-filing
  6. https://www.hrblock.com/online-tax-filing/self-employed-online-tax-filing/
  7. https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/turbotax-review/
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