TaxACT

I filed a State Return for New Mexico with TaxACT Online in 2016. After filing, I received a notice from the State of New Mexico saying that I owed them money. This was after I was told I would receive a refund. I contacted TaxACT and they would not help me resolve the issue. It wasn't until after I threatened to file a complaint with the BBB and the attorney general's office that they responded. 3 months later I received an email that they had made a mistake on the return and I do have to pay the money. I will never use this program again.

The TaxACT service makes it appear as though your taxes are being paid through them. I e-filed my return where it asked for my credit card for the $15 payment for using this so-called service. When I receive a notice that my federal return has been accepted, and receive emails saying my taxes have been filed and my return accepted one is led to believe that the taxes were paid. Wrong. Hidden multiple clicks after finding out your e-filing has been accepted is the location where you can pay your federal taxes. Providing this link on the same page as e-filing would make sense, but this program doesn't make sense.

After purchasing TaxACT software, downloading software, installing software, registering software, TaxACT software will not open unless the TaxACT username and TaxACT password is entered into a small browser pop-up window. Software is very cumbersome to do this each time the program is opened. TaxACT must be tracking and logging local information if TaxACT software users are required to log into the TaxAct Server to use TaxACT on client computer.

WARNING: DO NOT PURCHASE TAXACT SOFTWARE. You will spend more time trying to log into the program than doing your taxes. After using TaxACT for several years, 2016 will be the last year I ever use it. I will advise everyone I know not to purchase or interact with TaxACT software. I will also advise my followers, students, and associates at quarterly meetings not to utilize TaxACT. Cumbersome and Intrusive software.

Worst tax filing experience I have ever had. They put so many promotional options at the end of the filing process which is confusing and doesn't allow for a clear completion of filing. I used TurboTax previously and I would have gladly paid them 3 times what they were charging not to go through my TaxAct experience again.

Taxact.com has been my go to tax software and program since the mid-2000s, however this year, 2017, they screwed everything up and I am still waiting for my return... since February 3rd, 2017. First, their software claimed that my premium (paid) tax forms were submitted and received without error on February 3, 2017. A day later, I received a notice that I should receive my refund within 21 days. That is where the normality ended and everything went south.

After not receiving my refund by the end of February, I contacted TaxACT after finally finding a customer service number and asked what was going on. They stated that there was a "glitch" in the electronic submission of Form 8885 (yes, the stupid ACA-Obamacare form) and that they had to re-submit on February 13th. They never once contacted me to notify me of the error or the delay. When asked why, they said it was a minor error and everything would be fixed and my refund received in a couple days (first week of March).

After not receiving my refund in the first 2 weeks of March, I contacted the IRS only to discover that TaxACT failed to inform me that their error would set my refund back for a minimum of 6-weeks as the IRS had to reprocess the forms manually and that I should have my refund by the end of the 3rd week of April. I contacted TaxACT regarding this and they said that they only "just received the same information" and apologized for the delay. I demanded a refund of my filing charges and after arguing with me and finally getting a manager, I got my refund issued.

April has come and gone, so I called the IRS back. After an hour on hold, and being hung up on one time before, I was told that my return was still in their errors department and nothing had been done with it. They assured me that this time, they would get it out of that department and fast-tracked for refunding... but it would take an additional 30-days for processing (but would likely be sooner). Nothing more could be done until then.

Today is day 29, and still nothing. I am again still on hold with the IRS waiting to find out where my return is... it is likely still stuck in their black hole of "errors" and I will be told to wait another 30 days. ALL BECAUSE OF THE DISHONESTY AND POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE OF TAXACT!! Never again will I do business with TaxACT due to this issue. They have officially lost a long-time customer and supporter. And after reading the many similar situations on ConsumerAffairs, I believe a class action lawsuit may be in order due to the gross negligence and abuse of the TaxACT company! If any law firms pick this up, please contact me as I wish to file my complaint and use my case as a lead in this situation!

I've been a TaxACT customer for many years. I loved the value for the product that I was getting but this year has been a nightmare. I was looking to download the software like I have in previous years but couldn't find a way to do that so I wanted to call someone for help but the phone number was nowhere to be found. Requests had to be done through email and it says 2-3 business days to respond. What!! It's supposed to be tax season. I was running out of time and I had to do two returns and paid twice for them. I had no choice at the time. There was no other option for this. This will probably be the last year that I stay with them. I feel so scammed. If they respond and return my funds I will update this review and let you know what they say.

I've used this software for years. It WAS great. It's now crapware. Full of bugs and the agent (possibly more than one) is dumber than dirt. You can only contact them by chat and it keeps you waiting forever. Then you get a completely wrong answer to your question. Don't trust it. I chose the direct pay option and the taxes were not paid. My lawyer's going to have some fun!

TaxACT currently owes me at least $300 in penalty fees and interest due to their horrible service. I used to recommend them every year but this time around they completely screwed up my ETF transfer, never told me about it, and when I informed them that they screwed up the transfer they basically told me to go take a hike with their canned response. I will be sending them an invoice for the money owed, they will be hearing from my lawyer, and they've lost a lifetime customer. DO NOT USE.

I received a letter from the IRS asking for an explanation on how we calculated line 73d on form 1040. So I looked it up to see what the heck it was and it apparently is a request for a refund for a prior year overpayment on taxes! We owe the IRS taxes so where the heck did TaxAct come up with any amount of a refund from a prior year - especially since we had never filed out taxes through them before? They are phony and pad your returns to make it seem larger so you will go with them and then BAM! Audit!

I've used TaxACT for several years and have had no complaints. This year has been a nightmare. The links in their emails do not work. The phone number they listed to call the IRS for an e-filing PIN is not working. The email contact info for them bounced, saying the server was not working. Meanwhile, I am stuck in limbo with my tax return. Last year's price was reasonable. This year's was more than double, for lousy service. TaxACT has lost my business.

I've been using TaxACT for many years and I don't have any issues about it. They provide quick consulting if you were enrolled to Premium and low price and free State filing. This year is terrible! For the amount of $85 in total you get Federal and State with different prices. I should have gotten the review first before I proceed :(. I should get tax preparer to prepare this for me and she would cost only $50. To the fact that I have no refund, this $85 really matters on my pocket.

Few errors I found in TaxACT software this year 2016. First, there is no question to fill up the right way for Non-custodial info in the Form 8332 (Release/Revocation of Release Claim to Exemption by Custodial Parent). Their system reflects the same name of custodian to the non-custodial part. This should be able to input the name of non-custodial where you would release the exemption to. I ended up getting the form at irs.gov website and manually do it the form. It would take time for me to resolve this issue because there is no live support or call numbers to call to. I can't believe it!!!

Secondly, the e-file didn't go through and requested me to delete the 1 dependent because other person claimed it already. How would the system went through that logic if I filed 8332? It should went through. Lastly, when I try to fix the errors I can't log in and it says multiple attempts had been made. I tried the password to change but the questions seemed not familiar. This is surprising because I slept and when I wake up I continue what I have been left off. No change of password for sure. As I said, no live support to call for immediate action. I ENDED UP FILING my return to paper mail. This is what I paid for $85. Good luck for those who come back for this unforgettable experience. I should ask for money back.

After over a decade's use of TaxACT, you lost me as a customer this year because of your cumbersome signing in and mainly your deceptive pricing this year. Be upfront with your pricing. You have become too expensive but for what and why is that not disclosed at the beginning?

I have been a TaxACT customer for 10 years, but this was my last. They used to be such a bargain. The first 8 years were less than $20 for both federal and state. Last year was $30 and this year was $75. I also did not like that the online version did not let you see or interact with the actual forms. I feel totally slimed by the "Start now for Free", then they get you at the end.

Horrible experience. I had used them for '14 and '15 taxes which were pretty complicated and had partnership income. OK then, if a little clunky with the Q and A format. This year should have been super-simple (could probably do it by hand if I had the patience). But what a nightmare! It's like a totally different service. Very slow on the 16th and 17th of April. Then when I tried to file electronically (or print) on the morning of the 18th the whole system crashed. It first tried to sneak in a $79 "audit protection" fee. When I declined, and just went with the $37 option, it would not accept payment, so it would not send the return off to the IRS. Worse, the screen froze. The back button was inoperable. I had to go back to the very start of the Q and A nonsense to try the payment again. Failed all morning. So ended up filing an extension (first in my life), and will try tomorrow.

I keep seeing on TV all these tech companies talking about the cloud and "scalability". How they can handle even the heaviest volume with no problems. I gives TaxACT isn't a client. They should issue a warning: use us before April 10 or be sorry! Another problem: there is no place to deduct tax prep fees. Or investment expenses. I left those off since I had more than enough deductions, but still, it was not even covered in the Q and A. Or in the help topics. I remember last year's version was much more comprehensive. Oh, the customer help number? Fast busy signal since the 16th.

Price increase! Nearly 400%. I've been using TaxACT for more than a decade. I've always found it to be a good product and I've used it year over year to file my state and federal taxes. This year, though, was a shocker! I use the desktop version because, in this day and age, I don't want my tax information stored "in the cloud". When I downloaded the software this year I was charged $121 whereas it cost me $35 last year. Over time, the increases have been reasonable. This year is an abomination. Surely the convenience of not having to re-enter all of the information from preceding returns is worth something but after this I will certainly be using a different product for next year's tax returns!

I tried it once, as it said it would file 1040A and state for free! It charged me $37 just to print my 1040A (the e-file would not work). Then it tried to charge me the $37 again to print out my state form, so I could mail them out myself. I was charged $74 to print out and mail my own simple forms!!! It is a giant rip-off!!

TaxACT is price gouging - I've been with them for years and I don't know if it was the coffee this morning that made me take note or the fact that they have changed practices, but my filing this year cost me $75 and here's why. I've been with them for years, they pull my info from prior years nicely. This service is $10 and I appreciate it and happily pay it. To file the state section it's an additional $38, OK I can deal with that. This year I hit $75 as I was forced into the more expensive product at an additional $37.

The price gouging scheme works as follows: they pull my prior info, that prior info has a tax form from my prior refund. In accordance with the law, I'm required to include my refund from the prior year in my taxable income for this year - makes sense. What doesn't make sense is that I need to purchase the more expensive version of their software this year to tack on an additional $700 in refunded income from the prior year's return. Are you kidding me? You're forcing all users who filed a return through your service through the more expensive product with this requirement and its price gouging.

My situation represents a typical use case and I can't stand that this just happened. You save data that you know you'll be forcibly using against me with no way out other than paying a premium to stay within the letter of the law - I utilized 0% of the product you just made me purchase through this aggressive policy setting, targeted at taking advantage of the 100% typical US citizen. $75 for a return is beyond nickel and diming and I've had the worst experience with this company.

Notes for star ranks below: impossible to locate a contact us on the site without fully logging out and navigating to the home page and sifting through their FAQ's until I can find a point of complaint entry. Ease of use is low - you are corralled into their pricing schemes which is not user friendly. Accuracy is low - you are misrepresenting your services and charging $37 additional dollars for 0% of the purchased product - if I break that down more accurately, you are charging for 1 of likely 200 aspects of use of the more expensive product... so maybe I'm getting .05% use of this product which DOUBLES your cost to file.

I am totally dissatisfied with TaxAct! First of all, I saw an ad that they changed the price from $30.00 to $33.00. Secondly, by the time I finished, and got ready to submit, there was a $37.00 charge for the federal return, and $38.00 for the state return. Also, just to transfer the money into my checking account, the bank charges a $28.00 fee!! I am a senior citizen, and I feel like I've just been fleeced!!! So, I decided not to have the money automatically deposited, so I won't have to pay the bank fee!! This is just wrong!! I may as well have paid someone to do the filing for me!

I received the following in Nov. 2016: "You only have 3 days left to access our exclusive Cyber Monday offer! Lock in your 30% off TaxAct 2016 Plus Edition today! As always, your low price is guaranteed no matter when you file." I locked in my price as directed. Then a short while ago I received the following: "Simply sign in to your TaxAct Account. Your username is: **. Open your return to guarantee your 50% savings on your already low locked in price! Your discount will be applied at check-out. E-file your return and enjoy your savings!"

I do so. But they refused to honor the 50% savings. Their reason why: "We are only able to apply 1 promotion to each return. The 50% promotion is for half off of the regular price of the Federal return. The $10 promotion that you currently have is a lower price than the 50% promotion off of the regular priced Federal return." But the promotion says 50% off "already low locked in price" not off the regular price. They make it extremely difficult to determine pricing and send out so many special offers to further confuse the issue. The amount of $$ is insignificant. My concern is just their unwillingness to honor the promotion they sent to me. DO NOT TRUST THEM. I certainly won't in the future.

TaxACT doesn't disclose anywhere until you have finished entering all your information that their version for trusts doesn't support every state. So after putting in all the time to use the program only then do they tell you it won't work for where you live, in my case Oregon. This is a deceptive trade practice designed to lure customers in who wouldn't have used the product otherwise. I'd add my voice to all the others regarding the shady nature of this company's practices.

Although I have used TaxACT for the last couple of years and it has done a good job on my federal taxes, I have to give it a failing grade on state taxes. It did not identify that I actually did not even need to file an Oregon State non-resident form because my income was under the designated threshold. Therefore, in 2015 I filed when I didn't really need to and it cost me about $50. I almost made the same mistake this year but I happened to go to the state directions myself and noticed that I did not even need to file. This mistake would have cost me close to $100 this year. The income threshold should have easily been identified by TaxACT. I feel like perhaps TaxACT is intentionally programmed to allow tax filers to file state taxes when it is totally unnecessary, so the company can collect the extra fee for filing state taxes. FAIL!

I've been a loyal client of this company for a number of years, but all that changed today, April 16, 2017 year when I filed my tax return. I was expecting the same customer experience and similar pricing, but little did I know that TaxACT has transformed from a company whom I trusted and respected into just another ripoff service. The first sign I should have figured out something was amiss was when there's this new charge of $10 to import last year's tax information. It was a minor annoyance, but I paid the $10 and imported my taxes. So far, so good, right? Wrong!! I proceeded to complete my taxes, and because my return is fairly simple, I just assumed that I would pay $15 or $20. All of that changed when I went back and added some gambling winnings I forgot to include.

When I entered gambling winnings, the scenario suddenly changes when a pop-up appears and indicates that I need to upgrade to the $37 edition because I added a form. No problem, so I proceed to pay the $37 and continue on my merry way. I proceed print off my federal form, but it occurs to me that I wasn't given the choice to print my state return. So, I go back and check the box to print my state return and another pop-up suddenly and indicates that I need to pay an additional $38 to print my state return. Now, I realize that I'm being sucked down a rabbit hole, but still think it's a mistake because I trust this company.

So, I proceed to contact TaxAct and explain the situation to the representative. To my surprise, she informs me that it isn't a mistake and that's what I'll have to pay. I inform her that last year, I paid $9.99 and $6.00 for filing my federal and state taxes, respectively, and ask her what is the reason for the dramatic price increase. She couldn't offer me an adequate explanation, other than the prices had increased. Now, I'm a reasonable person and I don't have a problem with companies increasing their prices from time to time if it's reasonable. But, to increase the price for a generic service from $15.99 to $75 is a total rip-off.

It reminded me about how the drug companies are ripping off customers. Now, if there was something unique or proprietary about their product, I might be able to understand a moderate price increase. But, a five-fold increase is unwarranted and unconscionable, and I don't understand how this once trusted company can justify ripping people off to this extent. Because today is April 16, and I don't have time to look at alternative providers, I chalked it up to a lesson learned. But, it's sad to see a company that I trusted for so many years turn into just another rip-off service that has designed its software to knowingly lead customers down a rabbit of paying more and more fees. Had I known upfront that I could potentially being paying up to $75 for a simple return, I never would have went down that rabbit hole. Good luck, TaxACT. You have lost me a client for life.

Attempted to file taxes, taxact.com had me paying almost 7000 dollars in federal and state tax. I tried to correct their mistakes but got nowhere with this fraud of a company. I did my taxes on paper myself, the way I always have, and I'm getting back almost 1100 dollars in refunds.

Basically, they shut down tax day and set up ways to make contacting them very complicated. Use a company with available customer service and active tax day. I went to submit my tax return with your company on tax day. I work overnight shifts and your website shut down mid application on tax day. I attempted to contact you and the process proved you do not want to interact with your clients. It was a grueling process and now I have the privileged of applying with another company since tomorrow is Easter after-all... 90 minutes of submission with your company amounted to being shut down and having to do it all over again with another company.

I had to send an email from 3 different emails to get one to go thru with my complaint although it took one email address to start my taxes. I would have been better off obtaining paper documents and submitting my taxes. Very upset. No response has seemed necessary by your company and that there is no contact phone number. An alarm I should have recognized early on... when a company does not give a contact phone number. None people. If you are not satisfied there is no customer service to talk to!!!

Wow, I was a huge fan of your tax software for 5 years. This year I even convinced my son to use it, boy, I wish I had not. You've ruined a great user interface and experience. I will hunt down every site that allows feedback and make a point of complaining about the CRAP you've passed off. I can't believe I've wasted so much money trying to get a simple federal form completed. NEVER AGAIN, and I would give zero stars if that were an option. TurboTax or H&R Block are better and actually would have cost me less. I guess you guys are planning on getting out of the business altogether? You must be because I've not read a single review positive review that wasn't generated by some half talented marketing person. Why on earth would piss so many people off with this wretched piece of garbage?

I sincerely wish I had read these reviews before filing. But who can know, if you have been a long time customer. I don't even know if my taxes have been filed. The navigation was fine until the very end. It directed me to a third party to obtain my refund. By the time it was all said and done, I owed $103.00 to TaxACT/Third Party. What!!! I have never been charged this much, even with the Online Plus. I am sure TaxACT does not care that I am never using their services again. But looks like you will be losing more customers and for that, I am glad. For the lady, who was left with only $50.00, I am so sorry, I would have rather given you my $103.00 than this now gone RIP-OFF Software Program. We may never get a refund on the money unfairly took, so to TaxACT and Third Party, enjoy my money, that's the Last DINERO you will get. Hasta La Vista Baby!!!

I have always utilized Taxact online to prepare not only my taxes, but also my son's and a personal friend's taxes. I always paid $15.00 for my son's simple return until this year it increased to $27.00. Not really a big deal as I do realize prices sometimes (usually) do increase from year-to-year. I prepared my friend's taxes this year in early February. Since she is a home owner the fee was approximately $40.00 for both federal and state.

I waited until two days ago to prepare mine and my husband's taxes and mistakenly thought the fee would be the same as my friend. Nothing was noted about price during the whole process of filling in our forms but I stupidly assumed that the fees would be $40.00 as my friend paid two months earlier for the same exact type of return. Well when the program got to the point where I needed to make payment, that $40.00 went up to $75.00 ($37.00 for Federal and $38.00 for State)! I didn't even think to check the pricing after only a two month period and on not one of their pages did it even state the pricing.

I don't remember the initial link I clicked on to log into TaxACT but I know that it didn't state this new pricing. At that point I wasn't willing to start over again with another tax filing service and reluctantly paid the $75.00. I'm sure TaxACT hopes everyone does this. It's pretty crappy that they almost double their fees within two months for the same year's filing (they probably feel that they can gouge last minute filers)! I won't go back to using Taxact again!

I've used Tax Act for 4+ years. This year they added a hidden $15 charge to the federal version at the end, for a "PLUS EDITION". I sat on the phone for over 30 minutes and tried to email with zero customer service support. Bottom line is I was stuck as I did not want to redo my entire tax form. I am going to cancel the overpayment via a credit card dispute. Save yourself a headache and use another service in 2017.

I am never able to contact TaxACT on phone. Due to high volume, the call gets disconnected. There is no "Q" for waiting or a call back facility. Some Help topics are not clear. We need to talk to someone for clarification. The Help does not say what is enabled/disabled for possible deduction or to correct or add Forms. It is frustrating and no help on phone line: 319 373 3600.

Yes they're right. Deceptive as a presidential candidate. I used it several years with satisfaction and it's different this year. I can't see a return to check without sending 47 dollars. All you can do is enter information. Filing, printing, viewing, generating any kind of compilation of the entered information will cost you at least 47 dollars. It doesn't tell you this until spending about two days muddling with their awkward process. Sucker!