Introduction

Tax software has liberated countless people from doing taxes with a calculator. But can you use tax software to file your taxes? The answer is: "It Depends." This article will help you decide which tax filing software you can use.

Tax Residency Status

First, the main factor that determines which tax software you can use is your tax residency status. If you still are not sure about your status, you can refer to this article on tax filing overview and residency status. Below, we discuss the different situations separately.

Status: I Am a U.S. Citizen, National, or Resident Alien

If you are a citizen or a resident alien, congratulations: you have a wide range of tax software options available. Basically, most mainstream tax software is designed for you. If you are an F1 student in your sixth year, you also fall into this category. However, note that you may still qualify for the $5,000 exemption under the U.S.-China tax treaty, and tax software will not handle that automatically, so you may need to manually modify the forms and file them yourself.
Below we introduce 3 of the most common tax software options, which are also priced fairly similarly. Here is a comparison table of different versions of TurboTax and H&R Block.

TurboTax Free TurboTax Deluxe TurboTax Premier TurboTax Home&Biz H&R Block Basic H&R Block Deluxe H&R Block Premium H&R Block Premium&Biz
Supported tax forms 1040A, 1040EZ 1040A, 1040EZ, 1040 1040A, 1040EZ, 1040 1040A, 1040EZ, 1040 1040A, 1040EZ, 1040 1040A, 1040EZ, 1040 1040A, 1040EZ, 1040 1040A, 1040EZ, 1040
Free federal e-file Free 5 returns 5 returns 5 returns 5 returns 5 returns 5 returns 5 returns
State tax 1 state 0-1 state 1 state 1 state $39.95 0-1 state 1 state 1 state
Purchase link Free Purchase link Purchase link Purchase link Purchase link Purchase link Purchase link Purchase link
Official info TurboTax TurboTax TurboTax TurboTax H&R Block H&R Block H&R Block H&R Block

Reminder: if you plan to purchase, make sure to choose the correct PC or Mac version.
If you are already working, your employer or broker (for example, Fidelity) may also offer discounted tax software. Since one copy of the software can be used for 5 e-file submissions, it is possible to split the cost with others. If you are willing to print and mail paper tax returns, then in theory it can be used by an unlimited number of people.

TurboTax

TurboTax is one of the long-established tax software brands in the U.S., owned by the well-known financial software company Intuit. It supports both federal and state tax filing. TurboTax has multiple versions. The free version only supports Form 1040A or 1040EZ, so it is not suitable for most people. Depending on how complex your tax situation is, you may need the Deluxe version (basic property tax deductions), the Premier version (Deluxe + handling more complex rental income and securities investments), or the Self-Employ version (Premier + handling self-employment income). Naturally, the price increases with each tier. Also, filing state taxes for each state costs extra.
TurboTax has long been praised for its user experience and is very easy to use. It also supports importing tax forms by scanning them with your phone, which is especially convenient if you have a lot of forms. If you have questions, you can also chat online with TurboTax live support for quick help.

H&R Block

Compared with TurboTax, H&R Block's advantage lies in its offline network. You can find H&R Block locations almost everywhere in the U.S. Similar to TurboTax, H&R Block also provides both federal and state tax filing services and has multiple versions for different needs: Basic, Deluxe, Premium, and Premium+Business. As with TurboTax, state filing for each state costs extra.
One of the biggest benefits of filing with H&R Block is that if you choose to receive your refund as an Amazon gift card instead of a check, H&R Block will give you a gift card worth 5%-10% more than your refund amount.
Another notable feature of H&R Block is its free in-person Audit Support service. If you are unfortunately selected by the IRS for an audit of your tax return (usually because your tax situation is more complicated, though sometimes it is just bad luck), H&R Block will provide free face-to-face guidance from a professional to help you respond to the IRS audit request.

TaxAct

TaxAct's biggest advantage is that it is cheap! But that lower price comes with a rougher experience, and functionally it feels much more like a spreadsheet program. If you value speed, the author does not particularly recommend it.

Credit Karma Tax

Credit Karma is a well-known website that offers free access to and monitoring of credit reports. This year, CK began offering Credit Karma Tax, a free tax filing service, with even e-file completely free. However, since it is still a new product, its accuracy still needs to be proven over time (reportedly there are still occasional small issues). Therefore, we recommend cross-checking your return with another tax software product when using Credit Karma Tax.

Status: I Am a Nonresident Alien

For most students, because they have Exempt Status, they are not considered resident aliens. Many tax software products are designed specifically for international students. Their features are relatively simple, and generally they do not include state tax filing. Below we introduce two of the more common tax software options students can use. Many schools offer these software products for free or at a discount, so you can check with the relevant office at your school. Overall, the author believes Sprintax is the better option.

Sprintax

Sprintax is a newer online tax filing software for nonresidents. It claims to support tax filing for people in many different statuses, including students, visiting scholars, teachers, tourists, and even people who are not in the U.S. It offers a regular version and a Pro version, priced at $39.95 and $49.95 respectively, with an additional $25.95 for each state return. Support for state returns is Sprintax's biggest advantage, since the Glacier product introduced below does not support them. In addition, Sprintax can automatically apply tax treaty benefits.
Sprintax website: click here.

Glacier Tax Prep

Glacier is also a long-established online federal tax filing software for nonresidents. Its biggest drawback is that it cannot file state taxes. It does not support as many immigration statuses, but for most students and scholars, it is sufficient. Its price is $39.
Glacier Tax Prep website: click here.

TaxAct

TaxAct is currently the only software that can e-file Forms 1040NR and 1040NREZ electronically without mailing them in, making it especially suitable for readers who have already returned to their home country. Note that if you do not have a 1042-S or W-2, then under “Federal——Basic Info——Income Exempt from Tax Under Treaty,” you must select “none selected” for Country, and leave everything else blank. Otherwise, the system will instantly reject your submission at the end.

Status: I Am a Dual-Status Alien

Unfortunately, at the moment, mainstream tax software does not seem able to handle this type of tax return. You will likely have to work through the forms manually. Best of luck.

Conclusion

If you decide to use tax software, the next step is to enter your personal information into the software.