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| Jackson Hewitt Star Ratings |
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Prefer To File In-Office? Get the $25 Off Coupon for In-Office Tax Preparation!
The first of the year brings about exciting thoughts about the future, but it also brings up two of the most dreaded words: tax time. Once you receive those W-2s, 1099s, get your receipts out, and start to crunch the numbers, one can get lost in the math. Online tax services are becoming increasingly popular since it empowers the taxpayer to handle their own tax processes. Jackson Hewitt offers online tax preparation services to e-file your taxes and eliminates some of the stress. Jackson Hewitt is a large national tax preparer, and as similar national preparers have online services, so do they. The pricing between Jackson Hewitt and the competition sets can set them apart. It can be a bit pricier than other online tax websites, but you get what you pay for; plenty of options for a stress free return. The customer service was disappointing in the fact that unless you have chosen the Deluxe or Premium package, you can only send and receives emails with their customer support department. While there are some detractors, Jackson Hewitt has a strong reputation and the easy-to-use electronic filing options are acceptable and can help take some of the work out of getting your returns in.
What's New with Jackson Hewitt?- MyTax Center
- Jackson Hewitt Online Guide
StarReviews’ Favorite Jackson Hewitt Feature:
If you have recent life changes, Jackson Hewitt Online Guide will help you get the deductions that you deserve. When something changes in your life, such as the birth/adoption of a child, purchasing a home for the first time, or even moving in regards to employment, these are all issues that could possibly relate to your tax return. With the Online Guide, you are walked through step-by-step to maximum your credits and deductions to save the most money. This is appreciated since most people do not know what could qualify them for an additional deduction or what forms would be required if they were filing on paper.
The Jackson Hewitt Experience:
As with most online tax filing options, Jackson Hewitt gives the user different packages to choose from depending on their personal situation. The Basic package is for returns with no dependents. The Deluxe package is perfect for parents and home owners who may want to itemize deductions and credits. If you own a business or are self-employed, the Premium package fits perfectly.
After you create your username and personal password, you can immediately get started on your tax preparation, even without paying. You can try it for free. If you get to a position that would require you to upgrade your package (such as filing Head of Household), a pop-up window alerts you to this. The questions are standard question that you would answer on paper tax forms. You fill in required information in the fields that are needed such as name, date of birth, wage information, etc. Jackson Hewitt keeps a running total of your refund or amount owed in the top right-hand corner so you can see how you progress while working on your return.
If you have a question while doing your return, you can always send an email to the customer support. There is also a link that gives more information about commonly asked questions such as “How to determine filing status” or “Definition of relationship (when related to exemptions)”. This is helpful information to have readily available, especially if it is the first time filing your taxes alone or electronically. The as-you-go help options were pretty convenient to have handy just in case I questioned some of the options, which I surely did a time or two.
Once I finished my actual return, Jackson Hewitt automatically checked my return for errors and even let me know how likely my return was to be flagged for an audit. Although I have never been audited personally, I do know some people who have been audited and they were anything but happy about the process or the result.
Jackson Hewitt Features:- Can carry over information into state taxes
- Open calculator available for math
- Three different options for returns
- State filling can be added to any plan
- Jackson Hewitt Online Guide
- MyTax Manager
- Ability to print coupons from the website
- Rapid Refund Loan in 1 Day (Restrictions Apply)
Jackson Hewitt Pricing:
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Free
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Deluxe
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Premium
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Target Filer
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Simple Returns
No Dependents
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Parents
Homeowners
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Business Owners and Self-Employed
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Federal Return
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Included with Free e-file
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$27.95 with
Free e-file
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$45.95 with
Free e-file
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State Return
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$29.95 |
$29.95
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$29.95
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| Includes |
- Free W-2 Download
- Penalty/Interest Guarantee
- Audit Support
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- All Basic Features
- Deductions
- Dependents
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- All Deluxe Features
- Small Business Schedule C
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Customer Support
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Unlimited Email Support
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Unlimited Email and Live Chat Support
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Unlimited Email, Live Chat and Phone Support
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StarREVIEWS Note: Although Jackson Hewitt offers a Rapid Loan Refund within 1 Day, there are restrictions that apply. Return must be over $2,000 and not include an Earned Income Credit. This option is only available with In-Office service. If you would like to utilize this service, be sure to print our discount coupon and receive $25 off your return!
Jackson Hewitt Customer Support:
Depending on the plan package that you choose (Basic, Deluxe, or Premium), you are provided a different level of support. With the Basic package, you have access to unlimited emails any time. Deluxe offers email support as well as unlimited live chat support. Unlimited phone, chat, and email support is offered with the Premium edition. In order to obtain the additional support choices, you must go ahead, order, and pay for the tax filing options.
Before you send an email to one of the tax professionals, you should consider looking through the extensive list of frequently asked questions. Majority of tax preparation information can be found there. I was disappointed to find that unless you were paying a higher price that there was no chat option or phone support options, only email. The estimated time frame to receive a response to an email submitted is one business day. I did receive a response about a day and a half later, however, my response was from a live agent who invited me to reply to his email if I had any further questions. It was nice to see that I received an email from a real person and not an automated system!
Upside:- Can file both Federal and State taxes at the same time
- Site navigation is seamless
- Reputable name
Downside:- Cannot access past tax files
- More expensive than other sites
- Disappointed in customer service
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