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Brian of Manalapan NJ (06/01/08)
I made a payment for $10 to my fed. income tax trough taxact They Charged my credit card, but never made payment . I'm being charged intrest, and will have to pay it myself. have e-mailed them and left phone# have gotten no reply!
will have to pay extra $10 dollars+intrest
Howard of Sundance WY (05/14/08)
I have used Tax ACT for several years. This year I was filing and there was a selection of charging the program cost to my credit card or having the amount taken directly from my rebate. There is no further explanation of this choice at this time. I usually pay for the program just to be able to import the info the next year. After filling out more questions and at the end of the process the program tells you that an account has to be set up at a bank and it will cost even more money than the regular fee. Yes, I could have gone back...back...back... and changed that decision and then I could have filled out the information again.
I wasn't happy with Tax ACT at this point and thought it was kind of a shady way of doing things. So to add to this mess if you had the amount taken out of the refund your stimulus check won't arrive until July as a paper check. Poorly done Tax ACT.
Cheryl of Detroit MI (04/15/08)
I went to a web site tax act online. It stated that federal & state e-filing were free. I only wanted to file for my disabled mother so she could get the stimulus payment. Also she is due a refund from the state on her property. Well it showed the federal was completed after about 20 times going back and forth. The state would not go thru until I paid using my credit in which I did. They charged the deluxe package which was $22.95. I am very upset because I worked at least 5 hours and am keeping my fingers crossed that eveything is ok.
Michelle of Annapolis MD (04/10/08)
I have used TaxAct Online for over 6 years now. I READ everything BEFORE clicking the buttons. And I have NEVER paid a dime for anything. The site clearly states that the preparation is free, to e-file is more unless you qualify under the federal requirements. The only time you are charged is if you upgrade to other packages which of course have more bells and whistles...for the average taxpayer, probably not necessary. I always file my returnes electronically for both State and Federal and it never costs me more than $7.95. Which is a BLESSING considering my state refund is deposited within 48 hours of the confirmation receipt every year, and the Federal refund is deposited within 5 days of the confirmation.
If you pay attention and print out ALL the instructions, you will see that you will get a confirmation from the IRS and the STATE that your return has been accepted. It is YOUR responsibility to be sure you receive those, if not you must go back thru and read the help instructions. Furthermore, if you DO receive the confirmation and the taxing agency says you never filed, all you have to do is send them the confirmation with THEIR document control number and you will not have to pay anything at all.
Again, you must read the instructions. If you're not willing to follow the instruction to the letter on something as important as your taxes, then perhaps you need to spend the several hundred dollars to have someone else do it for you. In short, I love the software, I've converted over 25 people to the software who have NEVER had a problem in all their time filing. As with anyting in life, you only get out what you put in. I will use this online service as long as it is available.
Thomas of Louisville KY (03/05/08)
Beware Social Security Benefit receivers. TaxAct Online cannot deal with the Stimulus Package requirements. I filed a Federal Return with less than $2000 in earned income and $17,000 in Social Security Income. Put these figures in their interview process. They filed 1040EZ which DOES NOT report Social Security income. I had to file an amended return. They offered to do this if I upgraded to Deluxe. Guess what? Ammended returns (1040X) must be hard copy mailed. They wanted to charge me $10 to fix their mistake and give me a form you can get from the IRS website for nothing! And their email support is so pathetic it is embarrassing. I called their support line and they have no intention of fixing this. TurboTax Online has it working fine. I just did a dummy return and it correctly used the 1040a, which does report Social Security benefits.
I had to file an amended return so that I will get my stimulus rebate.
David of Louisville KY (02/15/08)
I received notice from the KY State Treasurers stating that I took a Hope Credit and a Lifetime Learning Credit for the tax year 2005 and that I will have to pay $487.02 and interest of $65.58 for a total of $552.60. I felt that Tax Act Online should have alerted me of the error but it did not. When I submitted this to tax act's guarantee they stated,
"The entries for education expenses were entered by the user in both the Federal Q&A and the Kentucky Q&A as those amounts do not transfer from the Federal to the State program automatically. Since the program did compute the correct amounts based on the entries made, it is not covered by the accuracy guarantee. Thank you for using TaxACT. Please let us know if you have any further questions."
What good is this program if it doesn't know if you calculated the same for the state as the federal?
Deanna of Brainerd MN (02/09/08)
Taxact advertised on the internet as being a free tax service. I went online to file my son's tax return (he earned less than $9,000)and the Federal return was free, however, when I wanted to prepare the state and efile them both together, they wanted $13.95. I paid it not knowing that this was a higher price than what was charged others. The federal refund went through without a glitch, however, the state did not receive the return until the day that the federal refund was deposited into his account even though I efiled them at the same time. When I tried to contact customer service I read that you have to have upgraded to the deluxe version in order to call their customer service number. I have since done my sister's return using the freedom Turbo Tax software (at no cost) and both federal and state were acknowledged as being accepted at the same time. I will ever use Taxact software again.
Paid $13.95 for FREE tax software and waited an extra two weeks for state refund due to them not sending the state return in until the federal refund was received. This resulted in my bank overdraft.
Kay of San Antonio TX (02/06/08)
I filed both 2006 & 2007 Federal Tax Return with TaxActOnline, because I was told it was free. In both case I wasn't charged a penny & had my return in 10 days! The only thing I found a bit annoying, as I went through their program, was getting pop ups from them asking me if I wanted to Upgrade to their Deluxe versionn. I just clicked on no & continue. I liked the fact it did all the calculations for me. It took me approx. 45 minutes to complete & file my return.
I plan to use them again next year.
Cindy of Jackson OH (02/05/08)
I filed my tax return with taxact on the 30 of january 2008. It has been one week and still no word on my refund. But that is not my complaint. I called the IRS to make sure that they received my return so it could be processed and they told me that they havent received it yet. I want to know why it has not been sent to the IRS yet? Can anyone explain this to me? Send an email or call me at home and leave message.
I may have to refile.
Kellie of Quincy IL (02/03/08)
I read the complaints that I have seen online. I just wanted to say that it is perfectly clear if you are familiar with efiling that you MUST pay for it. There is no free state filing. None of the sites actually do this for free. You must read all of the information thoroughly prior to completing then there will be no confusion, and doing any of this type of preparation work in a hurry is not the smartest of acts in any situation. Just a defense of a company (taxactonline.com) that I found to be easy to use and successful in my opinion. Thanks
Jason of Jackson GA (01/27/08)
I read your complaints from other individuals; and I'm sorry, but I think they were just in a hurry. If they were getting charged $7.95 for anything, it wasn't for filing. It was for one of the optional services that taxactonline offers. Yes, all the upgrade offers can be annoying, but hey, it's a free service. You have to expect the occasional ad. I filed my federal and state taxes with them; it was just as efficient as TurboTax or similar products, and it only cost me, as advertised, $13.95 for the state. When I used TurboTax last year it cost me well over $50 by the time I was finished. I have no complaints with Taxactonline. Frankly, if people are complaining about having to pay under twenty bucks, let them try an accountant and see how that works out for them! Suck it up, folks.
I'm a happy customer. I just hate seeing people complain because they click the wrong buttons in a rush and then blame the service provider.
Sandra of San Jose CA (08/14/07)
It was my first time using the e-file method, and I was kind of hesitant about it. When I went to the IRS web site and they said that Taxact was a good place to go, I filed with them. Yes, I got surprised my the fee at the very end, but paid it anyways because I had just spent an hour doing the whole thing. Then I received my confirmation emails, and paid no mind to it any more. Last week (4 months later!) I received a letter from the IRS stating that they had not received my return and that I would have to file again, and with late fees. I called TaxACT and they told me that I would have to upgrade my membership to be able to speak with customer service reps. to find out what happend. PAY AGAIN TO FIND OUT WHAT THEY DID WRONG?!?! That is ridiculous and a scam. I hope nobody else every uses them, so they aren't in the same boat as me. Thanks for SCREWING ME OVER TAXACT!
Donna of Naples FL (04/16/07)
i also had issues with this website, i chose thwe simple FREE filing, only to input all info, and then save everything to return to it later, and then when i went back, i was in the deluxe filing, and was not able to comlete my return until i paid 9.95, then i filed electronically, and my return was rejected, and i now have to file by mail, and today is the 15th of April, will i get it in on time, I HOPE, and will I get my money back I HOPE will i get audited because of this issue,I HOPE NOT
well the worry and the stress is way too much to deal with, and I just dont need any more stress in my life, especially around tax time
Lisa of Boswell PA (3/27/05):
I filed our federal taxes online with the regular taxactonline.com, and was told we qualified for a free e-file, and there wouldn't be any charge. There wasn't, but they DID say we would be charged for filing our state return, which I didn't file with them anyway. I was never charged a fee, and have already received our refund.
The trouble is, however, one week later when I filed our son's federal and state online with taxact I was charged ... for both. I knew I would be for his state, but wasn't prepared to pay for his federal as well. Not only that, but when finishing it only showed that I would be charged $7.95 for filing his state. After coming to this site I see others were misinformed too.
I read and reread the information before filing, and not once did I see where I was going to be charged for my son's e-filing, other than for state.
Brenda of Greens Fork IN (2/16/05):
I went to the IRS website to file my daughter's tax return. One of the websites listed for filing tax returns free was Taxact.online. I clicked on the link to Taxact.online and filled in the form to file my daughter's tax return for free. When I was finished, I was informed that in order to file the return, I would have to pay them. I was going to be late for work, so I went ahead and paid to have it filed. It took a long time to fill it out and I didn't have time to do it again.
When I tried to access the information to see when she should expect her refund, it would not go through on their website. The IRS should do something about them saying it is free and then charging for it.
Daniel of South Portland ME (2/15/04):
I registered to file my sister-in-law's tax return online for free thru the IRS website. It lists Taxact as one of the preparers and says "do your taxes for free today. All taxpayers qualify to prepare and e-file their federal return for free using taxact online. No restrictions. Everyone qualifies."
I registered with taxact thru the IRS website and completed the federal return and while doing the return the site timed out a couple of times and I had to re-sign in. When I completed my return and wanted to e-file it, taxact requested $7.95. I had no choice at that point after spending about an hour or more filling out the return so I paid it and e-filed my sister-in-law's return.
I called Taxact's customer service about it and she kept telling me I accessed Taxact directly instead of thru the IRS website which is not true. I discovered Taxact on the IRS website and went to Taxact thru the IRS but customer service said the access code shows I did not go thru the IRS website. Either the code is wrong or it is changed to the Taxact site after I was timed out and signed back in while doing the return.
Someone needs to find out why the wrong code is showing up and I was charged the $7.95. Customer service was not helpful. Their only answer was the code is not the one the IRS gave them for free file. They act like they do not care.
Even TaxACT's public Website is a little confusing. It offers "free tax preparation," which includes a printed tax return. If you want to e-file, it's $7.95. If you want to do a state return (and who doesn't?), it's $7.95 regardless of how you file it.
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