Tax Planning You May Still be Eligible to File Your Simple Form 1040 for Free – 37% Qualify Read the Article Open Share Drawer Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Written by TurboTaxBlogTeam Published Mar 24, 2023 - [Updated Sep 4, 2024] 2 min read The April 15th deadline is around the corner, but it’s not too late to file your simple tax return for free! Get started now If you have a simple Form 1040 return only (no schedules except for Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and student loan interest), you may be able to file your federal and state taxes for free with TurboTax Free Edition. Roughly 37% of tax filers are eligible. See if you qualify. What qualifies as a Form 1040 return with limited credits? A simple Form 1040 return with limited credits is one that’s filed using IRS Form 1040 only (with the exception of the specific covered situations described below). Roughly 37% of taxpayers are eligible. If you have a simple Form 1040 return only (no schedules except for Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and student loan interest), you can file for free yourself with TurboTax Free Edition or TurboTax Live Assisted Basic (if available), or you can file with TurboTax Full Service Basic at the listed price. Situations covered (assuming no added tax complexity): W-2 income Interest or dividends (1099-INT/1099-DIV) that don’t require filing a Schedule B IRS standard deduction Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Child Tax Credit (CTC) Student loan interest deduction Situations not covered: Itemized deductions claimed on Schedule A Unemployment income reported on a 1099-G Business or 1099-NEC income Stock sales (including crypto investments) Rental property income Credits, deductions and income reported on other forms or schedules If you don’t have a Form 1040 return with limited credits, we have other paid options to file using TurboTax. How does TurboTax make any money?We want our customers to love our products and services. Because we have customers who pay for our premium products and services, we can offer free tax filing. We offer additional paid benefits that go beyond filing your simple Form 1040 return with limited credits for free, but they’re optional. Over the last ten years, Americans filed approximately 124 million tax returns completely free of charge using TurboTax, more than all other tax prep software companies combined. Last tax season, more people filed their taxes with TurboTax and paid absolutely nothing than in any year in company history. In general, you have a simple tax return and can file for free with TurboTax if you have: W-2 income Interest or dividends (1099-INT/1099-DIV) that don’t require filing a Schedule B IRS standard deduction Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Child Tax Credit (CTC) Student loan interest deduction Don’t own a home or rental property Didn’t sell investments You can easily and accurately file your federal Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR, as well as state returns, with the TurboTax Free Edition and pay nothing – $0 federal, $0 state, $0 to file. So file now and be on your way to your maximum refund. Get started now Previous Post TurboTax Helps College Students, Including Student-Athletes This Tax Season Next Post The Tax Deadline is Approaching: TurboTax Shares What You Need… Written by TurboTaxBlogTeam More from TurboTaxBlogTeam 17 responses to “You May Still be Eligible to File Your Simple Form 1040 for Free – 37% Qualify” How do I find my file? The IRS says they cannot find it. Reply Hello Nance, To access your prior year tax returns sign onto the TurboTax website with the user ID you used to create the account – https://myturbotax.intuit.com/ Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and on the section; Your tax returns & documents click on Show. Click on the Year Click on Download/print return (PDF) If you used the desktop CD/Download editions installed on your computer, the only copy of your tax data file and any PDF’s will be on the computer where the return was created. TurboTax does not store online any returns completed using the desktop editions. Thank you Reply TurboTax claims it’s free,but I got 3/4 of the way to through and had to fill out a form for childcare.free doesn’t cover this form, forcing me to upgrade to deluxe edition for $60 then state isn’t covered costing another $40. How does the free version cover state,but deluxe doesn’t? BAIT& SWITCH!!!!! Reply Is turbotax something a old guy on a pension and social security can use ? Reply Yes, sir. You can file for free if you don’t itemize. The standard deduction for a married couple in 2018 is $24,000.00. But if you itemize, TurboTax charges you for the extra forms, but not until you finish, review and actually send the completed forms on line to the IRas. Turbo tax also Carrie’s over all info from one year to the next. I have been using Turbo Tax for 20 years, now and it’s very user friendly. But you can file on line with the IRS for free through their tax forms website 8f you don’t itemize. You just don’t get the benefit Turbo Tax gives through asking you step by step instructions as you file. Turbo Tax also makes you aware of everything you could possibly need to file before it does a Federal (and State, if you choose). It then does a review, shows you anything needing correction before sending, then you only pay after your return is filed. They also send you emails to let you know once your returns have been accepted. Hope this answers your question. Have a great day. Reply I filed my income tax through TurboTax but I was charged $105 I thought it was actually free this year Reply Im doing mine. It won’t let me file for free because I have a Health Savings account. To start it wants 52 dollars. If I pay it will it hold all my work and data hostage again? Mike Singleton Reply I’m not sure why this states it is free for Federal and State because this isn’t true! I was charged for my state taxes. I will not use Turbo Tax again! Reply TurboTax is not free! I went through all the steps for my 2018 taxes and at the end I could not actually file until I paid $39.99. I was appalled! I started my taxes with the free version. Last year they got me because I had to pay. They’re running these ads saying that you can file for free which is not true. I canceled my tax return with them and file with Credit Karma absolutely free! I found two days ago with Credit Karma and my money is on the way. So don’t believe TurboTax is free because it is not Reply i cannot get past upgrade notice at end to file my taxes Reply I couldn’t get to the next step without being charged.. after I typed in my health care info?? Used free turbo tax for the past couple yrs but will not next yr..guessing I wore out my welcome Reply Why does the commercial advertise free. But it’s not Reply Not free if you have form 1099 G Reply so which site should I be on because I have a 1099G also Reply Turbo Tax charged me a fee because I had to do schedule A and report a 1099 R. Reply I have filed my simple return using Turbo Tax for 4 years, suddenly this year because I made a contribution to my IRA of $1000 I was told I had to use deluxe for $40. Very misleading and fraudulent advertising. Reply NO it is NOT free. It used to be but now they suddenly have processing fees and programs that you get sucked into. This would have been my 7th year using turbo tax but I am never using again. Used to recommend, I do not anymore. Reply Leave a ReplyCancel reply Browse Related Articles Crypto Understanding Crypto and Capital Gains Work 7 Things You Need to Know About the New Business Report… Work Using Form 8829 to Write-Off Business Use of Your Home Tax Tips Roth 403(b) vs. Roth IRA: Which Should You Invest In? 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Hello Nance, To access your prior year tax returns sign onto the TurboTax website with the user ID you used to create the account – https://myturbotax.intuit.com/ Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and on the section; Your tax returns & documents click on Show. Click on the Year Click on Download/print return (PDF) If you used the desktop CD/Download editions installed on your computer, the only copy of your tax data file and any PDF’s will be on the computer where the return was created. TurboTax does not store online any returns completed using the desktop editions. Thank you Reply
TurboTax claims it’s free,but I got 3/4 of the way to through and had to fill out a form for childcare.free doesn’t cover this form, forcing me to upgrade to deluxe edition for $60 then state isn’t covered costing another $40. How does the free version cover state,but deluxe doesn’t? BAIT& SWITCH!!!!! Reply
Yes, sir. You can file for free if you don’t itemize. The standard deduction for a married couple in 2018 is $24,000.00. But if you itemize, TurboTax charges you for the extra forms, but not until you finish, review and actually send the completed forms on line to the IRas. Turbo tax also Carrie’s over all info from one year to the next. I have been using Turbo Tax for 20 years, now and it’s very user friendly. But you can file on line with the IRS for free through their tax forms website 8f you don’t itemize. You just don’t get the benefit Turbo Tax gives through asking you step by step instructions as you file. Turbo Tax also makes you aware of everything you could possibly need to file before it does a Federal (and State, if you choose). It then does a review, shows you anything needing correction before sending, then you only pay after your return is filed. They also send you emails to let you know once your returns have been accepted. Hope this answers your question. Have a great day. Reply
I filed my income tax through TurboTax but I was charged $105 I thought it was actually free this year Reply
Im doing mine. It won’t let me file for free because I have a Health Savings account. To start it wants 52 dollars. If I pay it will it hold all my work and data hostage again? Mike Singleton Reply
I’m not sure why this states it is free for Federal and State because this isn’t true! I was charged for my state taxes. I will not use Turbo Tax again! Reply
TurboTax is not free! I went through all the steps for my 2018 taxes and at the end I could not actually file until I paid $39.99. I was appalled! I started my taxes with the free version. Last year they got me because I had to pay. They’re running these ads saying that you can file for free which is not true. I canceled my tax return with them and file with Credit Karma absolutely free! I found two days ago with Credit Karma and my money is on the way. So don’t believe TurboTax is free because it is not Reply
I couldn’t get to the next step without being charged.. after I typed in my health care info?? Used free turbo tax for the past couple yrs but will not next yr..guessing I wore out my welcome Reply
I have filed my simple return using Turbo Tax for 4 years, suddenly this year because I made a contribution to my IRA of $1000 I was told I had to use deluxe for $40. Very misleading and fraudulent advertising. Reply
NO it is NOT free. It used to be but now they suddenly have processing fees and programs that you get sucked into. This would have been my 7th year using turbo tax but I am never using again. Used to recommend, I do not anymore. Reply