Credit Karma has changed quite a bit over the past few years. In addition to the free credit scores and reports from TU and EQ that it has always offered, it now offers features such as Checking, Savings, and Credit Builder. In October 2026, CK relaunched its Credit Karma Tax service. Federal tax filing is completely free, while state returns cost $15 each. It can also handle common tax situations involving stocks, cryptocurrency, self-employment, and more. Although it’s not as generous as when both federal and state filing were free, the price is still pretty good.

About Credit Karma

Credit Karma (CK) has been around for a long time. Before credit card companies started offering free credit scores, Credit Karma was one of the first sites to provide free credit scores from TransUnion and Equifax, along with the corresponding credit reports. It’s also beginner-friendly: one to two months after you get your first credit card, you can check your credit information on CK. Another useful feature is its alerts about changes to your credit report. For example, if you apply for a new credit card and a new hard inquiry or account appears, CK can notify you promptly.

CK also began offering free tax filing in 2017, which was a significant step. The original Credit Karma Tax was later sold and became Cash App Taxes. In October 2026, CK relaunched its own tax-filing service, which we’ll cover in a future article.

Signing Up for Credit Karma

Signing up for CK is simple. Just complete these steps:

  • Step 2: Enter your personal information (name, address, date of birth, SSN, etc.) and follow the on-screen instructions to complete verification.
  • Step 3: Verify your identity. Sometimes, CK uses public-record questions for verification, such as whether you’ve ever applied for a personal loan, what your previous address was, or whether you’ve had a credit card from a particular bank. Read the questions carefully; if you don’t recognize any of the options, you can select “none of the above.” The verification process may differ from what’s shown in the screenshots, so just follow the on-screen instructions.

CK began allowing users without credit scores to sign up in 2026, so if you’ve just arrived in the U.S. and haven’t established a credit history yet, you can give it a try. The sign-up screenshots above show the old 2019 interface and are for reference only.

Credit Karma Features

Free Credit Scores

One of CK’s main selling points is its free credit scores from two bureaus: TransUnion and Equifax.

Keep in mind that these credit scores may use a different scoring model from the one a bank uses when you apply for a credit card or personal loan. CK uses the VantageScore 3.0 model, not the FICO model we usually refer to. VantageScore is a legitimate credit-scoring model, though—it isn’t just an arbitrary score generated for comparison.

Even so, the score can still be useful as a general reference. Focus on how it changes over time. A significant increase usually indicates that your credit situation has improved. A significant drop may mean you haven’t paid off debt or have applied for too many credit cards recently. In other words, pay attention to the trend; the specific score itself isn’t all that meaningful.

CK also has one of the clearest explanations of credit scores I’ve seen.

CK now checks your TU and EQ credit reports and updates your scores daily, which is more timely than the old weekly updates. However, banks generally report account information monthly, so this doesn’t mean your score will change every day.

Free Credit Reports

In addition to scores, CK provides detailed credit reports. Note that it provides reports from two separate bureaus, TU and EQ, so remember to switch between them. Generally, the biggest difference is the number of hard inquiries, since a bank may not pull all three bureaus. Information about existing credit cards is usually the same.

Your credit report includes:

  • A list of all your current credit cards
  • Detailed information about each card
  • A list of credit cards that have been closed
  • Details about closed credit cards, including whether you or the card issuer closed them
  • Other information that affects your credit score, such as hard inquiries, collections, and public records

CK may not show every detail that appears in a full credit report from a credit bureau, such as soft inquiries. However, soft inquiries are visible only to you; banks can’t see your soft inquiries when you apply. So it’s normal if CK doesn’t show them. If you want official reports from all three credit bureaus, you can get them free once a week through AnnualCreditReport.com.

Other Features

  • Debt list
  • Credit card and loan recommendations (feel free to browse, but there are usually a lot of lousy offers)
  • A credit score simulator. It’s interesting and especially useful for beginners who want to understand the effects of different actions. Still, focus on the trend—the exact score isn’t very meaningful.
  • Find unclaimed property. This feature takes you to the government websites for different states. If you’ve lived in the U.S. for a long time and moved several times, you may have unclaimed money—for example, a check that was mailed to your old address and never reached you after you moved.
  • Credit Builder. This credit-building feature was added by CK later. You can start saving as little as $10 from each paycheck and build a credit history through on-time payments. However, the funds won’t be unlocked until they reach $500. It’s suitable for people just starting to build credit, but not all users are eligible to apply.
  • Credit Spark. It can report on-time rent, utility, and phone bill payments to credit bureaus for eligible users, which may be helpful for people who are new to the U.S. and have a limited credit history. Availability depends on the biller and your eligibility.
  • Identity Monitoring. It can monitor issues such as personal information exposure and can be used alongside the existing credit report change alerts.

Credit Karma Tax: Free Tax Filing

Credit Karma launched a free tax filing service in 2017, when both federal and state returns were free. The business was later sold and became Cash App Taxes. On October 20, 2026, CK relaunched Credit Karma Tax, this time using TurboTax technology.

To avoid readers getting to the end of the article only to be disappointed, we’ll say upfront that most F1/J1 students are tax nonresidents (Non-Resident Aliens) during their first few years in the U.S. They generally need to file Form 1040-NR and cannot file using the regular Form 1040. The new version of CK does not specifically state whether it supports Form 1040-NR, so tax nonresidents should not use it without confirming support first. To determine your residency status, see the tax residency test in this article.

Free Tax Filing Service

The pricing is simple this time: federal returns are completely free, and each state return costs $15. It’s no longer entirely free as before, but you also don’t have to upgrade to a more expensive package just because you have stock, cryptocurrency, or self-employment income.

The feature set is fairly robust, including importing W-2s by taking a photo, automatically checking for calculation errors, and a Maximum Refund Guarantee. The new version also offers the following optional paid services:

  • Expert Support Bundle: Priced at $29 at launch, it includes Audit Defense, identity protection, and live support.
  • Expert Final Review: Priced at $39 at launch, it lets a tax expert review your return before you submit it.

These two services are optional. You can still file an eligible federal return for free without buying them. Also, eligible users who have their federal refund deposited into Credit Karma Checking may receive it up to 5 days early. The company has also announced a Refund Advance of up to $4,000; eligibility depends on individual qualifications and the promotion’s terms.

Supported Tax Situations

The new Credit Karma Tax supports a much wider range of tax situations than before. In addition to ordinary wage income, it supports:

  • Form 1040: Individual federal income tax return
  • Schedules C and SE: Self-employment income and self-employment tax
  • Schedule D and Form 8949: Stock, fund, and cryptocurrency transactions
  • Schedule E: Rental property and other income
  • Schedule A: Itemized deductions
  • Schedule 1 and other income and adjustment items

The company says these forms do not require a paid upgrade. For more unusual situations, such as filing in multiple states, being a part-year resident, or filing Form 1040-NR, check first whether the software supports your return rather than relying on the old list of restrictions. Forms 1040A and 1040EZ mentioned in the original article have been discontinued and are no longer relevant.

Data Security

Tax filing involves sensitive information such as your SSN, income, and bank account details, so it’s worth paying attention to how that information is handled. Under IRC §7216 and Treas. Reg. §301.7216, tax preparers generally cannot use tax return information for purposes unrelated to tax preparation without authorization, although the law provides exceptions and users can separately authorize such use. When using the new Credit Karma Tax, carefully review the privacy policy and authorizations for the use of tax return data. Don’t assume they follow the same rules as the information associated with a regular Credit Karma account.

Credit Karma Savings

Credit Karma still offers its own savings account. The website currently shows a 2.60% APY, and the account has no monthly fee or minimum opening deposit. The rate is variable, so the actual APY is the one shown on the application page when you open the account. In my opinion, there are other accounts with high APYs, but some have fairly strict requirements or require you to keep a large balance. This no-fee option from CK is still worth considering.

Credit Karma is not a bank; banking services are provided by MVB Bank. Through a network of partner banks, Savings can offer up to $5 million in FDIC insurance, but that does not mean a deposit at one bank is automatically insured for $5 million. The FDIC insurance limit at each bank is generally $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category. If you have other deposits at a partner bank, your actual coverage may be lower. There may also be a limit of up to 6 withdrawals per month.

CK now also offers Credit Karma Checking, which has no monthly fee and comes with a Visa debit card. Eligible users with qualifying direct deposits may also be able to access early pay and some overdraft protection features. Check the website’s terms for the specific requirements.

Summary

Overall, Credit Karma is a website well worth signing up for. It provides free credit scores and credit reports from TU and EQ, and it has relaunched its Credit Karma Tax filing feature. You can also check out Savings, Checking, Credit Builder, and other products. Although tax filing is no longer free for both federal and state returns, the price—$0 for federal returns and $15 per state return—is still quite competitive. I also think the interface is well designed, and the ads are not too intrusive.

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