Best Turbotax Deals

[Karina Edling]

CBSEssentials is created independently of the CBS News editorial staff. We may receive commissions from some links to products on this page. Promotions are subject to availability and retailer terms.

Tax Day is fast approaching. Taxes are due by Monday, April 18, 2022 for most Americans (excluding taxpayers in Maine and Massachusetts, who need to file by April 19, and those who have requested an extension, who have until October.)

Last year, more than 195 million tax returns and other tax forms were filed electronically; 14 million of those tax returns were filed with a version of TurboTax. The tax software aims to simplify the tax filing process and find customers big tax breaks they otherwise would't find on their own. If you are one of the many Americans considering TurboTax as a tool to help file taxes correctly and on time, there are a few things you need to know about filing your taxes via the software.

There are four main types of TurboTax to choose from. Your choice should correspond with your lifestyle. For instance, if you are a taxpayer with investments in cryptocurrency, there is a clear TurboTax version for you. Are you self-employed? Then don't pick the option for taxpayers who document all their income with a W-2.

Though the best TurboTax discounts happen early in the tax season -- next year, buy your software in January -- there are still good deals available on TurboTax software. CBS Essentials has found deals on TurboTax software at Amazon that you can shop right now. Keep scrolling to find deals on TurboTax software.

This free version of TurboTax is a great option for taxpayers whose income is largely from W-2s and savings in the bank. The tax software includes a free filing of your simple federal and state tax returns. According to TurboTax, the Free Edition covers W-2 income, Earned Income Tax Credit (EIC) and child tax credits, plus your standard deductions, student loan interest deductions and limited interest and dividend reporting (1099-INT, 1099-DIV).

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is currently suing TurboTax parent company Intuit, claiming the software company is misleading people with its promotions over free tax filing. (Intuit, for its part, says it follows IRS rules and has called the allegations "simply not credible.")

Users get anytime assistance from TurboTax's online community of TurboTax specialists. Worried about something going wrong? TurboTax Free Edition includes guidance in case of an audit, backed by TurboTax's audit support guarantee.

TurboTax Deluxe includes all the features of TurboTax Free Edition, plus a few extras. It's a good option for homeowners. This TurboTax version offers homeowners step-by-step guidance on how to turn their home investment into a major tax break. (If you're hoping to deduct the interest you paid on your mortgage, you'll want to go with TurboTax Deluxe.)

TurboTax Deluxe includes a search of more than 350 tax deductions and credits to find all qualifying tax breaks. And should an unexpected form arrive late, this software lets you make changes to your 2021 tax return, online, up to three years after it's been filed and accepted by the IRS.

TurboTax Premier has all the features of TurboTax Deluxe, but is also great for taxpayers with investment incomes, such as stock, cryptocurrency, bonds, ESPPs, robo-investing and income from rental properties. If you've been buying and selling on Robinhood or Coinbase -- especially selling, which is a taxable event -- TurboTax Premier is likely the version for you. It makes reporting these transactions easy, even there are a lot of them -- the software can import thousands of transactions directly from brokers.

Similarly, if you own your house and are renting a spare room to a friend or family member, this version will help you report the income and locate common deductions that can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

TurboTax Self-Employed includes all of the features of the other TurboTax versions as well as some important extras for taxpayers who work for themselves. If you've got a freelance job or Doordash delivery side hustle, for example, this is the TurboTax version for you.

Ideal for 1099-NEC incomes, this TurboTax version helps you complete all relevant self-employment tax forms and will also let you know if a Schedule SE or "Self-Employment Tax," is required by the IRS.

This version of the tax software looks through your transactions for industry-specific deductions, including real estate, ride shares, delivery driving, online retail and personal or professional services. If your business has employees, this tax software allows you to prep and print unlimited W-2 and 1099 forms.

Amazon has TurboTax self-employment software on sale right now under the name TurboTax Home and Business. Note that TurboTax Home and Business is the same as TurboTax Self-Employed. TurboTax Home and Business is the name of the desktop CD and downloadable version. TurboTax Self-Employed is the name of the online version.

After a highly unusual day, the deadline to file taxes is nearly here. This year, because of the coronavirus pandemic, the deadline for filing taxes has been pushed back: Instead of being April 15 like usual, Tax Day is now July 15.

The IRS has also promised this year that it will be simpler to figure out how to file taxes for free. And the introduction of an "easier" new W-4 form for the 2020 tax year is aimed are alleviating some of the confusion regarding withholdings and other issues. But doing your taxes remains an overly complicated prospect for many people.

Obviously, paying $0 to do your taxes is the cheapest option. Can you file your taxes for free? The answer is probably yes if your adjusted gross income (after certain deductions are subtracted) is $69,000 or less, and if your taxes are fairly simple and straightforward. (Things can quickly get complicated if you have significant investment income or you're self-employed, among other situations.)

To file your taxes for free, get your tax forms and other paperwork handy and go to irs.gov/freefile. After filling in some basic information, the IRS site will steer you to a partner tax preparation service from the Free File Alliance, where you can complete the process of filing your federal tax return for free. The first day you can file during the 2020 tax season is Monday, January 28. So you can feel free to file your taxes now.

This may come as a surprise, but you can often save money purchasing tax prep software by using an intermediary retailer like Amazon, Walmart, or Target, or a discount code website such as RetailMeNot.com, instead of going directly to the website of TurboTax, H&R Block, or another service.

In addition to low prices, you should also look at retailer-specific bonus offers. If you buy H&R Block tax software at Amazon, for example, you can get a 4% refund bonus if you request your federal refund as an Amazon gift card. While this may seem tempting, it's kind of a sinister strategy by Amazon. Our advice would be to save your refund money, or use it to pay off your credit card balance or student loan debt, rather than buy stuff at Amazon.

We've also seen TurboTax bonus deals at Target and Best Buy offering, for example, a $5 or $10 gift card with certain tax software purchases, or an extra 10% discount for members of Target's Circle rewards program.

It looks like the early birds are the people who got the cheapest tax software prices. In general, prices from TurboTax and others have increased as tax season has rolled on, which is unfortunate if you're hunting for tax software deals in March. Then again, we've also seen some prices rise, only to replaced by better deals as Amazon, Target, Walmart, and the tax software makers themselves compete for customers.

Here are the best TurboTax deals we've seen lately, as well as discounts for H&R Block and other tax prep products. We'll update this list as new tax software deals pop up. Before buying anything, though, check out our guide to the best tax prep software for 2020, so you know which product will work for your needs.

Figuring out prices for TurboTax and other tax prep products can be far more complicated than it should be. On the one hand, it makes sense that different products have different prices, because they offer different services to customers.

But many other factors can affect how much you'll pay at the end of the day for tax-prep software, and they have no real correlation to the services and quality of the product. Among them are: the timing of your purchase (short-lived deals come and go); whether or not the product is "exclusive" to a certain retailer; if you visited the tax software site directly or clicked through a discount site with a coupon; if you get a gift card bonus by making the purchase with a specific retailer; and if you are paying with a certain credit card that gives a special discount.

These are all prices for what seem like essentially the same product. But there is one key difference in some of these purchases: When you get a state return download included in the product, you may still have to pay extra to actually e-file your returns. That could add another $25 or so to your total. Then again, if you prefer, you could mail in your return for no extra charge.

As you can see, the cheapest overall price was $54.88 for TurboTax Premier delivered as a CD from Amazon, with a software download, one state return, and free shipping included. Or you could have paid $99.99 for the same thing directly from TurboTax.

You'll find a wide range of prices for other TurboTax options, as well as products from H&R Block and others. The big takeaway is that if you're hoping to get the lowest price on tax prep software product, it's wise to spend a few minutes shopping around. Browse the weekly store circulars, and use search terms like "TurboTax discount code" to find online deals.

Be sure to read the fine print, and be skeptical of super cheap prices. Why? For example, we spotted a version of TurboTax Deluxe currently for sale at Amazon for only $8.76. The problem is that the software applies to the 2018 tax year. So it'd be useless if you're trying to do your taxes for the current year now.

3a8082e126