The Internet is chock-full of products to fulfill each and every financial need a consumer may have, and tax preparation is no different. To make things a bit easier, Star Reviews decided to do the dirty work and sift out the best choices for you to sign up for come tax time. TaxBrain is one of the products we researched and we immediately noticed how simple their site layout was. Continue on for the whole scoop below.
What's New?
- Quick Access tax refund loan is now available.
- Free access to live customer support.
- Guaranteed accuracy (or they'll refund your money and pay for any interest and penalties you may incur).
TaxBrain User Interface and Product Application:
TaxBrain offers online tax preparation, but there is no desktop version available. The product has a very intuitive and user-friendly interface with easy access to customer support should you run into any questions or road blocks. In addition to the intuitive layout and easy-to-use tax preparation tools, TaxBrain seemed to move more quickly than some of the other products we tested while offering the same results as far as accuracy was concerned.
Star Reviews Favorite Feature:
TaxBrain seemed to offer one of the most comprehensive catalog of forms for personal and business filing purposes, making this product a great option for the self-employed. The TaxBrain Tax Calculator available on the front page of the website is also very useful, allowing you to get a rough estimate of what you'll be getting back (or what you owe) without actually going through the entire tax prep process.
TaxBrain Features:
- TaxBrain Tax Calculator.
- Federal and state preparation and filing options.
- Audit defense available.
- Five-year safekeeping available.
- Offers printed and bound copies of returns.
Pricing Plan:
- The costs of preparing and filing your taxes with TaxBrain will vary depending on exactly which forms you need to use. Prices start at $19.95 (for the 1040EZ) and go up to $69.95 (for the 1040 Premium).
- Services such as 5-year safekeeping, audit coverage and bound copies of returns are also available for an additional cost.
- State preparation and filing is also available for an additional $19.95 to $29.95 depending on which state you live in.
Customer Support:
TaxBrain offers customer support via online chat, email and telephone. Chat support was easy to access and instantaneous. We chatted with a rep, who was able to answer our questions quickly and to our satisfaction. Email support was also easy to locate, as was the customer service phone number. However, when we called the customer support number we waited on hold for approximately 20 minutes before just giving up and hanging up and we never did receive a response to our email inquiry.
Upside:
TaxBrain offers a variety of tax preparation options to fit almost any need and access to support via online chat is virtually instantaneous and efficient.
Downside:
TaxBrain can be a bit pricy depending on your specific tax situation and email and phone support were not at all responsive.
Summary:
We think TaxBrain is a great choice in online tax preparation services. First of all, Quick Access tax refund loans are available and customers receive free access to live customer support, a huge bonus. TaxBrain offers a great Tax Calculator and print & bound copies of tax returns. So, for those of you who shy away from online filing, rest assured your records can be ordered by hard copy.
Services such as 5-year safekeeping, audit coverage and bound copies of returns are also available for an additional cost. Prices begin at $19.95 for basic forms such as a 1040EZ, but can add up depending on what form you need or tax situation you're in. Live chat support is great, but we didn't receive a response to our email inquiry and telephone support put us on hold for a long while. But, overall, we feel the TaxBrain tax service is worthy of a thumbs up!