8 Best Tax Software Picks for Freelance Creatives (2026)

Free tax filing is real, and it is defined to exclude you.

TaxAct's own page lists freelance, contractor, side hustle and self-employed income among the things that fall outside its free federal filing, and notes that about 40% of users qualify for free.

TurboTax requires its Premium tier, formerly called Self-Employed, for anyone filing a Schedule C. The word free in this category is doing a great deal of work, and the exclusion it carries is precisely the income a creative business earns.

Then there are two products where it is not an exclusion at all.

Cash App Taxes states plainly that it is 100% free for state and federal returns, and that if you are self-employed, have a side gig, do contract work or own a small business, you can still file for free.

FreeTaxUSA is reported to file a Schedule C federally at no cost, charging a reported $14.99 for the state return.

A tax software package for a freelance creative is a filing product that handles self-employment income on Schedule C, business expense deductions and the self-employment tax that an employer would otherwise split with you.

How We Compared 8 Tax Software Options

We priced one specific return rather than a generic one: a single freelance creative in the United States with Schedule C income from client work and digital product sales, ordinary business expenses, one state return, and no employees or corporate structure.

That is the most common shape a working photographer, designer or filmmaker files, and it is the shape the free tiers are built to exclude.

Prices were read from vendor pages during this comparison wherever those pages served readable content, and each entry says which grade of claim it carries.

Several vendors publish a federal price with the words state additional and no figure, and where that happened we say so rather than inventing a number. Reported figures come from third-party sources and are labelled at the point of use.

Three vendors returned a 403 to automated requests, namely H&R Block, FreeTaxUSA and TaxSlayer, and FlyFin's pricing URL returned a 404. Those four are reported throughout.

Everything here is United States federal and state filing. None of it is tax advice, none of us is your accountant, and the software's own disclaimers say the same thing.

In one lineeight filing products, one Schedule C return with one state, priced on the total it actually costs rather than on the federal number in the advertisement.

What Pricing the Same Return Eight Times Showed

The finding that reorganises this category is that the free tier is not a smaller version of the paid one. It is the same product with your income type removed.

• The same Schedule C return with one state costs between $0.00 and about $199 depending on vendor.
• Two products file self-employment income federally at no cost, and most of the market charges a premium tier for it.
• State filing is quoted as an unpriced addition by two of the largest vendors.
• Reported state fees range from about $14.99 to about $39.99 for the identical task, a spread of roughly 2.7 times.
• Above about $100, what you are buying is a human being reviewing the return rather than better software.
• TaxAct states about 40% of users qualify for its free federal filing, which means most do not.

For the option matched to your situation, jump to the decision guide.

What It Actually Costs to File One Creative Business Return

Federal plus one state with a Schedule C attached is the return a working freelance creative actually files, so this table shows the total for that job rather than the advertised federal price every vendor leads with.

The bottom of that table and the top are not the same purchase, and it is worth being clear about why before anybody feels overcharged.

At $0.00 and about $14.99 you are buying software that fills in forms correctly. At about $192 and $199 you are buying a qualified person who looks at the return and signs it. Those are different products that happen to share a category.

What is harder to defend is the middle. TaxSlayer at a reported $92.98 and H&R Block at a reported $122 are software, not human review, and they are charging six to eight times what FreeTaxUSA reportedly charges for the same Schedule C.

The state column is the part most people miss when comparing.

A reported $39.99 at TaxSlayer against a reported $14.99 at FreeTaxUSA is a $25 difference for filing the identical return with the identical state, and neither of the two biggest vendors on this list publishes the number at all.

In one linethe same Schedule C return costs nothing or $199, and the difference above about $100 is a human signature rather than better software.

The Free Tier Excludes Exactly What You Earn

This is the mechanism worth understanding before you start any return, because it is the reason people begin in a free product and finish in a paid one.

Free filing tiers are built around a simple W-2 employee: one job, one income statement, a standard deduction.

Add self-employment income and you need Schedule C, which reports business profit or loss, and Schedule SE, which calculates the self-employment tax covering both halves of Social Security and Medicare that an employer would otherwise split with you.

Those two forms are where the paywall sits at most vendors. TaxAct's page lists freelance, contractor, side hustle and self-employed income and expenses among the situations that fall outside free federal filing.

TurboTax directs Schedule C filers to its Premium tier, which it notes was formerly called Self-Employed.

The practical consequence is the upgrade prompt that arrives after you have spent an hour entering data, at which point starting again elsewhere feels worse than paying.

Two products break that pattern and both deserve credit for it. Cash App Taxes states that self-employed, side gig, contract and small business filers can still file for free, covering both federal and state.

FreeTaxUSA is reported to include Schedule C in its free federal filing, charging only for the state return.

The lesson is to check for Schedule C support before you enter a single figure, not after. If a product's free tier covers it, you will know in thirty seconds, and if it does not, you have saved yourself the hour.

In one linecheck whether Schedule C is in the free tier before you enter any data, because the upgrade prompt is designed to arrive after you have made switching expensive.

The 8 Best Tax Software Options for Freelance Creatives in 2026: Full Comparison

Scores are out of 10 across four weighted criteria: total cost for a Schedule C return with one state (30%), how well it handles self-employment specifically rather than as an upsell (30%), quality of guidance and support for the price (25%), and pricing transparency before you commit time (15%).

A free product not topping this list needs explaining.

Cash App Taxes costs nothing and is second because FreeTaxUSA, at a reported $14.99 all-in, covers more situations and has a longer record with complicated self-employment returns, and $14.99 is not a real obstacle for a business.

1. FreeTaxUSA: Free Federal Including Schedule C, Reported $14.99 a State

PriceReported. FreeTaxUSA's site returned a 403 to our requests. Federal filing is reported to be free including self-employed and Schedule C forms, with state returns reported at $14.99 each, and some sources reporting $15.99.

Paid support tiers are reported to be available as add-ons.

Best forFreelance creatives who want a complete Schedule C return at close to no cost.

Rating9.0 out of 10

FreeTaxUSA is first because it declines to do the thing this entire category does. Where every large vendor treats self-employment as the trigger for a premium tier, FreeTaxUSA is reported to include Schedule C in its free federal filing and charge only for the state return.

For a freelancer, that single decision is the difference between a reported $14.99 and a reported $122 at H&R Block for the same return.

The interface is the honest trade and it is a smaller trade than it used to be. This is a plain, form-driven product without the conversational hand-holding TurboTax has spent two decades refining. If you have never filed a Schedule C before, you will find it less reassuring.

What it does have is completeness. The reported coverage extends across basic, premium and self-employed forms without tier gates, which means the return you can file is not limited by what you paid, only by what you understand.

The reported state fee of $14.99 is the other quiet advantage, since it is roughly a third of TaxSlayer's reported $39.99 for the identical filing.

The gotcha is that support is a paid add-on rather than included, so a complicated first year may cost more than the headline. And because the site would not serve us its pricing page, verify the current federal and state figures yourself before starting.

Skip it ifthis is your first self-employed return and you want to be guided rather than asked, where a more expensive product genuinely earns its price in reduced anxiety.

Verdict: the best value in this comparison by a wide margin, and the only product other than Cash App Taxes that does not charge you extra for being self-employed. Verify the current prices, since we could not.

2. Cash App Taxes: Genuinely Free, Including State

PriceRead at source. The service states it is 100% free for state and federal returns, with no hidden fees regardless of tax complexity, and that self-employed filers, side gigs, contract workers and small business owners can still file free.

It also states plainly that it is not a tax advisor and that you should consult your own legal and tax advisor.

Best forFreelancers with straightforward Schedule C returns who want to pay nothing.

Rating8.7 out of 10

The claim here is unusually clean for this category: free federal, free state, self-employment included, no upsell at the end. Most products in this article reserve at least one of those as the thing you eventually pay for.

For a freelance creative with client income, ordinary business expenses and one state return, that combination genuinely covers the job, and paying nothing is a real result rather than a technicality.

The limits are about scope rather than about price. Cash App Taxes supports one state return, so a photographer who worked across state lines has a problem, and it does not handle every situation the larger products cover.

Before relying on it, check that your specific forms are supported, because discovering a gap in April is an expensive kind of free.

The disclaimer the service publishes is worth quoting because it applies to this whole article. It states it is not a tax advisor and that you should consult your legal and tax advisor about your circumstances, which is exactly right and exactly what a free product should say.

The other consideration is that filing through a payments company means your tax data sits with a payments company. That is a judgment call rather than a fault, and it is worth making consciously.

Skip it ifyou need multiple state returns or you have anything unusual, where the reported $14.99 at FreeTaxUSA buys meaningfully broader coverage.

Verdict: the genuinely free option, and for a straightforward freelance return there is no argument against trying it first. Confirm your forms are supported before you commit an evening to it.

3. Keeper: $199 for Software and a Tax Professional's Signature

PriceRead at source. Standard is $199, including federal and state e-filing for up to 2 states, tax pro review and signature, deduction tracking and coverage of common federal and state credits and deductions.

Premium is $399, adding quarterly tax payment support, multi-state returns for 3 or more states, Schedule E for property and K-1s, EV credits, AMT, foreign income exclusion, audit protection, prior year filing for 2022 and 2023, amendment filing and uncommon credits.

No separate state filing fees are listed.

Best forFreelancers who want a professional to check the return without hiring an accountant.

Rating8.4 out of 10

Keeper's $199 buys something the cheaper products do not sell at any price, which is a tax professional reviewing and signing the return. That is the line separating software from service, and it is worth understanding as a product difference rather than a markup.

The deduction tracking is the part that suits creatives specifically.

A freelance photographer's deductible expenses are scattered across camera gear, software subscriptions, travel, insurance and a home office, and the recurring problem is not knowing what qualifies rather than knowing how to type it in.

Including up to 2 states in the $199 with no separate state fee is a genuinely good structure, and it compares well against stacking a reported $39.99 per state elsewhere.

The Premium tier at $399 is worth reading carefully rather than assuming you need it. Quarterly tax payment support, 3 or more states, Schedule E and audit protection are real features, and a single freelancer with one state and no rental property does not need any of them.

The gotcha is the price relative to the alternatives. At $199 you are paying roughly 13 times FreeTaxUSA's reported total for the same underlying return, and the difference is the review, not the filing.

Skip it ifyou are confident in your own numbers, because you are paying about $184 more than a reported $14.99 for reassurance.

Verdict: fairly priced for what it includes, and only worth it if the professional review is the thing you want. A freelancer who already works with an accountant should compare this against what that accountant charges before switching.

4. FlyFin: A CPA Files It, Reported at $192 a Year

PriceReported. FlyFin's pricing URL returned a 404 to our requests. Basic is reported at around $7 a month billed annually with AI deduction tracking and a quarterly tax estimator but no filing.

Standard is reported at $192 a year with a CPA filing federal and state returns. Premium is reported at $348 a year, adding S-Corp filing, video calls with the CPA and audit insurance. A 7-day free trial is reported.

Best forFreelancers who want a CPA to handle the filing entirely rather than review their work.

Rating8.0 out of 10

FlyFin sits one step further along the service spectrum than Keeper. Rather than reviewing a return you prepared, a CPA is reported to prepare and file it, with the AI layer handling deduction discovery through the year.

For a creative who genuinely dislikes this task, that is the product being described.

The reported $192 a year for federal and state filing by a CPA is considerably less than most accountants charge for the same work, and the year-round deduction tracking addresses the real problem, which is expenses forgotten in March that happened in July.

The reported Basic tier at around $7 a month is worth noting as a separate product. It tracks deductions and estimates quarterly tax without filing anything, which suits somebody who files elsewhere but wants the categorisation handled.

The reported Premium tier at $348 adds S-Corp filing, which matters only if you have incorporated, and audit insurance, which is a risk product rather than a tax product.

We could not read the pricing page, so all figures here are reported rather than confirmed, and a service purchase at this level deserves your own verification before committing.

Skip it ifyou want to keep control of the return, since handing filing to a third party means trusting their judgment on your deductions.

Verdict: the cheapest reported route to having a qualified person actually do your taxes rather than check them. Verify current pricing yourself, and take the trial before the year you need it.

5. TaxSlayer: Mid-Market Software at a Reported $92.98 All In

PriceReported. TaxSlayer's product page returned a 403 to our requests. The Self-Employed tier is reported at $52.99 federal plus $39.99 per state, which is about $92.98 for one federal and one state return.

It is reported to include tax advice from professionals with self-employed expertise, additional 1099 and Schedule C guidance, and year-round quarterly estimated payment reminders.

Best forFreelancers who want more guidance than a bare-bones product without paying for professional review.

Rating7.5 out of 10

TaxSlayer occupies the middle of this market and its Self-Employed tier is aimed directly at the audience this article is written for, with 1099 and Schedule C guidance and quarterly reminders that matter more than they sound.

Quarterly estimated payments are the thing that catches out newly self-employed creatives, because the tax is due through the year rather than at the end of it, and a reminder system is worth something to somebody who has never done this before.

The reported access to professionals with self-employed expertise on the Self-Employed tier is a middle position between pure software and Keeper's signed review, and for a second or third year freelancer that may be exactly the right amount of help.

The pricing is the problem. At a reported $92.98 total it costs roughly six times FreeTaxUSA's reported $14.99 for the same return, and the reported $39.99 state fee is the highest in this comparison, nearly three times FreeTaxUSA's.

Skip it ifyou are comfortable with a form-driven interface, because the guidance is the entire premium and it is a substantial one.

Verdict: competent mid-market software carrying the highest reported state fee here. Worth it only if the self-employment guidance genuinely changes how confident you feel, and check the current prices since we could not.

6. H&R Block: Reported $122, and an Office You Can Walk Into

PriceReported. H&R Block's online filing page returned a 403 to our requests.

Premium and Self-Employed tiers are reported at $85 to $89 federal plus about $37 per state, with the Self-Employed plan reported at roughly $122 total for one federal and one state return.

Assisted and in-office options are reported to be available at higher prices.

Best forFreelancers who want the option of sitting across a desk from somebody.

Rating7.3 out of 10

H&R Block's genuine differentiator is physical. If a return goes wrong, or a letter arrives, there is an office with a person in it, and no software-only product in this comparison offers that.

For a creative whose first self-employed year has gone badly, or who has received correspondence they do not understand, that option has real value and it is not available at a reported $14.99.

The software itself is good, with a guided interview that is more reassuring than the budget products, and the reported $37 state fee is mid-range rather than punitive.

The difficulty is the same one that runs through this whole article. A reported $122 for a Schedule C return with one state is roughly eight times FreeTaxUSA's reported total, and the software difference does not account for that.

You are paying for the option of a human, whether or not you use it.

Skip it ifyou will never walk into an office, because that is the feature you are funding.

Verdict: the right choice if in-person help matters to you and expensive if it does not. Reported prices only, since the site would not serve us its pricing page.

7. TurboTax: The Most Guidance, and the Premium Tier for Schedule C

PriceRead at source, partly. Do It Yourself is listed at $0 to $149 federal with state additional and no state figure published. Expert Assist is $79 to $209 federal with state additional. Expert Full Service starts at $100, reduced from $200.

Schedule C filers are directed to Do It Yourself Premium, formerly called Self-Employed, which includes 1099-NEC snap and autofill and a year-round tax estimator.

Best forFreelancers who want the most polished guidance and will pay for it.

Rating7.0 out of 10

TurboTax is the best-designed product in this category and has been for years.

The interview format genuinely reduces the chance of missing something, the 1099-NEC snap and autofill removes tedious entry, and the year-round tax estimator addresses the quarterly payment problem properly.

If tax filing causes you real anxiety, that design work has value and it is not imaginary.

The pricing is where it loses this comparison. Schedule C requires the Premium tier, the DIY range tops out at $149 federal, and the state cost is not published on the page at all, which means the total you will pay is not knowable before you start.

That last point is the one worth weighing. Two of the largest vendors here quote a federal price and the words state additional, and a comparison you cannot complete is a decision you cannot make.

Expert Full Service starting at $100, reduced from $200, is genuinely interesting if it applies to your situation, since it is a full-service price below Keeper's $199 and FlyFin's reported $192.

Read carefully what starting at means for a Schedule C return before assuming it applies.

Skip it ifcost matters and your return is ordinary, because a reported $14.99 does the same filing.

Verdict: the best software experience in this article at a price its competitors have made hard to justify. Consider the Full Service tier at a starting price of $100 rather than the DIY Premium tier, since the gap is smaller than it looks.

8. TaxAct: The Clearest Statement That Free Excludes You

PriceRead at source, partly. Do It Yourself starts at $0, with the page noting that about 40% of users qualify for free federal filing and that freelance, contractor, side hustle and self-employed income and expenses fall outside it.

DIY with Xpert Assist starts at $45 and Xpert Full Service starts at $99. All tiers are marked state additional with no figure published, and the self-employed product's price is not stated on the page we read.

Best forFilers who want assisted help at a lower price point than TurboTax.

Rating6.6 out of 10

TaxAct deserves credit for clarity even as that clarity works against it here. Its page states directly that self-employed income and expenses are outside free federal filing, and that about 40% of users qualify for free. Most vendors leave you to discover that.

The assisted pricing is genuinely competitive. Xpert Assist starting at $45 and Xpert Full Service starting at $99 undercut TurboTax's equivalents meaningfully, and for somebody who wants professional help at the lowest price, that is worth pricing directly.

The problem for this audience is that the self-employed DIY tier's price was not published on the page we read, and neither was any state fee. For a comparison article, that means we cannot tell you what it costs, and for you it means the same thing.

Skip it ifyou want to know the total before you start, which this page does not allow.

Verdict: honest about what free excludes and opaque about what the alternative costs. The assisted tiers starting at $45 and $99 are the interesting part, and worth pricing directly against TurboTax's.

Software, Guidance, or a Person: Three Products in One Category

The prices in this article look irrational next to one another until you sort the products by what they are actually selling, at which point three coherent groups appear and each one is priced sensibly within itself.

Read that table before comparing any two prices, because comparing Cash App Taxes at $0.00 with Keeper at $199 is comparing a spreadsheet with an accountant.

The middle row is where the value question is sharpest. Paying a reported $92.98 or $122 for guidance rather than for a person is the least defensible position in this market, and it is where most freelancers end up, because it is where the marketing is loudest.

The honest progression for a creative business looks like this. In your first self-employed year, pay for guidance or for a person, because the cost of a mistake exceeds the fee.

Once you have filed the same shape of return twice and understand what goes where, drop to the cheap software and keep the difference.

If your business grows a second state, employees, or a corporate structure, go back to a person and stay there.

In one linebuy guidance in your first year, buy cheap software once you have filed the same return twice, and buy a person again when the business gets complicated.

What Creative Businesses Get Wrong Before the Software Matters

The software is the last step, and by the time you open it most of the outcome is already decided by things that happened months earlier.

Expenses recorded late are expenses forgotten. A camera body bought in March, a software subscription cancelled in June, a train fare to a shoot in September.

The deduction tracking in Keeper, FlyFin and the accounting tools we compared separately exists because this is the real problem, not the filing.

Business and personal accounts mixed together turn one hour of filing into a weekend of forensic work, and no tier of any product in this article fixes it after the fact.

The same applies to income you never invoiced properly, which is why invoicing tools matter more to a return than most people expect.

Quarterly estimated payments catch out almost every newly self-employed creative, because tax on freelance income is generally due through the year rather than in a lump at the end. TaxSlayer's reported reminders and FlyFin's reported estimator exist for this reason.

Digital product income is easy to under-report simply because it arrives from several platforms in small amounts.

A designer selling presets, templates and prints across three storefronts has three sets of figures to reconcile, and the platforms do not agree with each other on timing, which is one reason how you price digital products is worth settling before the year starts.

None of the above is advice about your particular situation, and all of it is the sort of thing an accountant will tell you in five minutes for free the first time you ask.

In one linethe return is decided by your bookkeeping months before you open the software, and no tier upgrade repairs a year of mixed accounts.

Knowing What You Actually Earned

This is our own category, so read this section as an interested party making its case and the limits at the end of it as the honest part.

Every product above starts by asking what your business earned, and for a creative selling digital products across several platforms, that is a genuinely annoying question to answer. Preset packs on one storefront, print sales on another, client invoices in a third place.

Framekit is an AI website builder with a shop attached, so digital product sales run through one place and one set of records rather than three, which makes the number you type into any of the software above a number you can actually check.

Product sale fees are 5% on Free and Starter, 3% on Pro and 0% on Business, so what you keep is predictable too.

Where this argument loses, plainly. It is not accounting software and it does not produce a profit and loss statement, so our comparison of accounting tools remains the right place to look for that.

It does not track expenses, which is half of a Schedule C and the half people get wrong. And it does not file anything, so every product in this article is still required.

The narrow claim is that consolidating sales into one place makes the income side easier to state accurately, and nothing more than that.

In one lineconsolidating sales fixes the income half of the return and does nothing for the expense half, which is the half that costs you money.

The Decision Guide

Work down this list until a branch matches your situation, remembering that none of this is tax advice and that a genuinely complicated year is worth an accountant's hourly rate rather than any software.

You want to pay nothing and your return is straightforward. Cash App Taxes, free for federal and state, with self-employment included. Confirm your forms are supported first.

You want the best value with broader coverage. FreeTaxUSA, reported free federal including Schedule C and a reported $14.99 state.

It is your first self-employed year and you are nervous. Pay for guidance or a person. TurboTax's Full Service starting at $100, or TaxAct's Xpert Full Service starting at $99, are the cheapest routes to somebody qualified.

You want a professional to check and sign the return. Keeper at $199, including federal and up to 2 states.

You want a CPA to do it entirely. FlyFin, reported at $192 a year for federal and state.

You have worked in three or more states. Keeper Premium at $399, since most cheap products handle one state and charge per additional one.

You want quarterly reminders because that is what catches you out. TaxSlayer Self-Employed, reported at $92.98 total, or FlyFin's reported estimator at a reported $7 a month.

You want to be able to walk into an office. H&R Block, reported at about $122 for one federal and one state.

You have incorporated, hired anybody, or had an unusual year. None of the above. Talk to an accountant, and treat the fee as the cost of not guessing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the cheapest way for a freelancer to file taxes?

Cash App Taxes at $0.00 for both federal and state, which states that self-employed filers, side gigs and contract workers can file free.

FreeTaxUSA is reported at free federal including Schedule C plus a reported $14.99 state, which costs slightly more and reportedly covers a broader range of situations.

Why does tax software charge extra for self-employment?

Because self-employment requires Schedule C for business profit and loss and Schedule SE for self-employment tax, and most vendors place those forms above their free tier.

TaxAct's page states directly that freelance, contractor, side hustle and self-employed income falls outside its free federal filing.

How much does it cost to file a Schedule C return?

Between $0.00 and about $199 depending on what you buy.

Cash App Taxes is free, FreeTaxUSA is reported at about $14.99 with one state, TaxSlayer is reported at about $92.98, H&R Block at about $122, TurboTax at $149 plus an unpublished state fee, and Keeper at $199 including professional review.

Do I have to pay separately for a state tax return?

At most vendors, yes. Reported state fees run from about $14.99 at FreeTaxUSA to about $39.99 at TaxSlayer for the identical filing. Cash App Taxes includes state at no cost and Keeper includes up to 2 states in its $199.

TurboTax and TaxAct both mark state as additional without publishing a figure.

Is free tax software safe to use for business income?

The reputable free products are legitimate filing services rather than trials, and Cash App Taxes states there are no hidden fees regardless of complexity.

What varies is coverage rather than safety, so the thing to check is whether your specific forms and states are supported before you begin.

What can a freelance creative deduct?

Ordinary and necessary business expenses, which for creative work typically includes equipment, software subscriptions, a proportion of home office costs, business travel, insurance and professional fees.

What qualifies in your situation is a question for an accountant, and this article is a software comparison rather than tax advice.

Do I need to make quarterly estimated payments?

Many self-employed people do, because tax on freelance income is generally due through the year rather than in one payment at the end.

Several products in this article, including TaxSlayer and FlyFin, include estimators or reminders for exactly this reason. Whether it applies to you is worth confirming with a professional.

Should I use accounting software as well as tax software?

They solve different halves of the problem. Accounting software records income and expenses through the year, and tax software files the return at the end of it.

Keeping the two separate is normal, and the recording half is where most freelancers lose money, because a deduction not recorded in July is a deduction not claimed in April.

The Verdict

FreeTaxUSA is the best tax software for freelance creatives in 2026, at a reported free federal return including Schedule C plus a reported $14.99 for one state, because it is the only paid product here that does not treat self-employment as the reason to charge you more.

Cash App Taxes is the genuinely free option at $0.00 for federal and state with self-employment included, and for a straightforward freelance return there is no argument against trying it first.

Keeper at $199 and FlyFin at a reported $192 are the honest answers when what you want is a qualified person, and they are priced sensibly against what an accountant charges for the same work.

The finding that ran through every table in this article is that free filing in this category is defined to exclude self-employment income specifically.

TaxAct says so on its own page, TurboTax routes Schedule C filers to a premium tier, and two products decline to play that game entirely.

So the last recommendation is a thirty-second one. Before you enter a single figure anywhere, check whether Schedule C is included in the tier you are looking at.

That check costs nothing and it is the whole decision, because the upgrade prompt in this industry is engineered to arrive after you have already done the work.