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1040.com

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2.6

Overall Score

Author: Kaitlyn Short

LAST UPDATED: April 10th, 2024

1040.com has been in business since 1977 under Drake Software, the parent company that builds tax software and business solutions for several companies in the industry. Built by tax professionals, 1040.com makes it easy to file your taxes and get your tax return. The website boasts that 175 people helped build the 1040.com online platform, and more than 21 million tax returns were filed through the website in the last tax season.

Drake Software and 1040.com claim to be tax geeks; many of the company's employees are CPAs and tax lawyers, making it easy for a customer to file their 1040 form online. Dealing with the IRS can get complicated. No matter the tax situation, the 1040.com software will provide step-by-step instructions to help get you the correct tax forms, check for accuracy, and get you the fastest tax refund possible on your state and federal tax return.  

Also, for every tax return filed on 1040.com, the company donates $2 to clean water projects.

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The Good

  • One-Price Guarantee
  • Advanced Software
  • Automatically Suggested Deductions
  • Company Blog
  • Mobile-Friendly Site
  • Supported Forms

One-Price Guarantee

Recently, 1040.com changed its pricing structure. Although the company removed its free filing option, it now offers a flat-rate model. And it's only $25 to prepare and file both federal and state taxes (plus any applicable sales tax for the federal and state tax returns).  

Advanced Software 

Drake Software's 1040.com tax filing solution is based on its proprietary tax software product. There are many different software solutions, including GruntWorx, that make it easy for users to manage their documents. GruntWorx is a secure cloud-based paradigm that automates the tax preparation process. In the 1040.com platform, clients can transform their preparation and organization of forms through a unique cloud server that stores tax documents securely and safely. 

Drake Software also has several webinars and blogs that advise clients on tax prep solutions, the latest IRS reforms, and other trending information in the industry. Drake has also won several awards in the industry, including the CPA Practice Advisor's Readers' Choice Award and First Place in the AICPA Software Survey, which includes Best Software for a new practice.

Automatically Suggested Deductions

The company has an abundance of deduction resources on its website. People can go to learn about standard and itemized deductions, as well as different ways one can use deductibles. The helpful information 1040.com provides about deducting state and local taxes is thorough and was written for the benefit of the customer. There are a lot of useful tips in the "Tax Savings Strategies" portion of the site, as well as crucial deductible information for those who are self-employed. Tax preparers may also get an estimated tax refund through the free 1040.com Tax Refund Calculator App. 

Company Blog

We found the blog to be particularly helpful. Customers can learn a little bit more about how to include our donations with state and federal tax filings and how to get a receipt stating the "fair market value" of the items donated and not the price paid when they were purchased.

Mobile-Friendly Site

1040.com is also mobile-friendly. This is always a bonus for any company because it makes filing taxes more convenient. The process can be started and completed anywhere you go.

Supported Forms

The company offers 1040, 1040A, and 1040EZ forms for basic tax preparation. If you need advanced tax preparation, it also provides forms like the Schedule C for profit or loss in business, the Schedule E for supplemental loss and income, and more.

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The Bad

  • Additional Costs

Additional Costs

While it's only $25 to file both your federal and state tax returns, 1040.com does have a few other services that will cost customers extra. Of course, these services are optional and not required. 

The company allows customers to decide if they'd like to pay using their refund or by credit/debit card. 1040.com's E-collect does cost an extra $24.95. But it's an excellent alternative for consumers who would rather not use their debit or credit card. 

Another optional service that customers may want is Audit Protection. 1040.com does offer a robust Audit Protection service to all its filers through Protection Plus. Protection Plus is a third-party company and some customers may not feel as comfortable having their information shared with a separate company. But once again, this service is entirely optional. If a customer does want to purchase Audit Protection, it will cost them an additional $29.95.

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The Bottom Line

Overall, we would recommend going with another company if you are filing your taxes. We did like the following aspects of 1040.com:

  • One-Price Guarantee which includes state at no extra cost (no matter how many states are needed)
  • A good collection of blog articles that addressed a wide array of different issues.
  • An easy-to-use tax forms system that is backed by Drake Software's proprietary GruntWorx preparation system with step-by-step instructions

However, customers should be prepared to pay a bit more for extra services such as E-collect and Protection Plus's Audit Protection. 

For a single W-2 situation, 1040.com might be a good tax service to use. However, you might find that the website is a little bit cumbersome for larger tax situations. In complicated tax situations, it might be best to use a professional tax preparation service.

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Star Rating

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1.8

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47 Reviews

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15%

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0%

2 grade

6%

1 grade

74%

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William Burden ,

Had an issue with getting my passcode with irs to complete filing after I made pymt to 1040.com for 16 bucks for state taxes. Never fully completed the process. But I didn’t owe so I waited til next year to clear up the mess. 1040.com deleted info and claimed they charged me for me to use their online software not to do the filing then deleted the very information I was charged for. It’s not a huge loss but deleting my info I was planning to reuse and paid for is pushing me away from coming back. So just be cautious of counting on them to keep your forms as they also didn’t make them available to me in this circumstance. Online service was quick to fall back in terms of service instead of offering a solution or trying to help with getting forms back. I’ll trust other software moving forward.

5 years ago

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Rebecca Pattillo Austin, TX

I do not recommend this company for doing your taxes, especially with state taxes they do not ask you upfront some important questions that can lead to you missing deductions. Additionally, many of their forms are named differently than the corresponding tax forms, so you have to go searching a while to find what you need. I also found their customer service agent to be very unhelpful.

5 years ago

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Reply from 1040.com

Hi Rebecca! Thanks for your feedback - could you point us to the mismatched form names and deductions you missed on your state return? We certainly want to address any potential issues for our users!

Feb. 4th, 2020

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Steps Bythe #'s GA

Customer support lack luster. I am filling in KY which is supposed to be supported the tax software will not accept my Employer State ID Number which is listed on my W2 and I've used it previously. Customer support is a no show so far and it was supposed to be free but charged $25. How do I complain to the IRS?

1 year ago