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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
User consensusAlternativesIs it worth it?
Is it worth paying for

TurboTax

30
Value score / 100 Worth paying? No Skip it

TurboTax is generally not worth paying for due to widespread complaints about hidden fees, forced upgrades, and poor customer support, despite its historical reputation for ease of use.

Free + in-app purchases seen up to $750 4.8★ lifetime (938,254) since 2014

TurboTax, despite a high lifetime rating, faces significant recent criticism for deceptive pricing, forced upgrades to expensive paid tiers, and inadequate customer support. Many users report being charged hundreds of dollars for services they believed were free or unnecessary, leading to frustration and a recommendation to seek alternatives.

Free vs paid

While TurboTax advertises a free version, many users report being forced into paid deluxe or premium options, often costing over $100, even for simple tax situations R7R10R18R20. The free version is often inaccessible or becomes unavailable if certain forms or assistance are needed R58. Paid tiers, especially those with 'expert help,' are frequently criticized for being ineffective, unresponsive, or leading to errors R3R9R11.

Value complaints

  • Users are frequently charged unexpected fees, often hundreds of dollars, despite believing they were using a free service or not opting for premium features.R4R7R10R18
  • The app often forces users to upgrade to more expensive plans, even for simple tax situations or minor deductions, making the 'free' option effectively non-existent.R7R10R18R31
  • Customer support is widely reported as unhelpful, unresponsive, or difficult to access, especially for resolving payment issues or errors made by the service.R2R3R9R11
  • Users report significant errors in tax filings, incorrect refund calculations, or failure to file taxes at all, leading to penalties or lost refunds.R4R5R6R15

Where it delivers

  • Some long-time users find TurboTax easy to use for straightforward tax situations, especially if they qualify for the free version.R58R59R63R81
  • A few users have positive experiences with specific tax experts or find the service helpful for their needs.R9R59R63R81
Worth paying if

It is difficult to recommend paying for TurboTax given the numerous complaints about unexpected charges and poor service quality for paid tiers R2R3R4R7.

Skip / stay free if

You should skip TurboTax if you are looking for a truly free filing option, if you have any complexity in your taxes that might require expert help, or if you are on a tight budget R3R7R10R11. Many users recommend alternatives like FreeTaxUSA or H&R Block R11R18.

Evidence note: The lifetime rating of 4.78 is significantly higher than what recent reviews suggest. The vast majority of recent reviews (-) are 1-star, indicating a sharp decline in user satisfaction and product value, especially regarding pricing and customer support. The evidence is heavily skewed negative for recent experiences.

Frequently asked

Is TurboTax truly free?
No, despite advertising, many users report that TurboTax is not truly free and often forces them to pay for deluxe or premium versions, even for simple tax situations R7R10R18R20.
How much does TurboTax typically charge?
Users report being charged anywhere from $40 to over $800, with many instances of charges around $100, $118, $139, $140, $150, $170, $183, $200, $205, $212, $250, $300, $310, $350, $400, $465, and $536.75 R4R7R9R10.
Is TurboTax customer support helpful?
No, customer support is widely criticized for being unhelpful, unresponsive, difficult to reach, and often relying on AI chatbots that provide no real assistance R2R3R9R11.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R4] 1/5 · US Gotnothingoutifthedeal: So I have used turbo tax before and I am noticing a pattern that I don’t like. Turbo tax each time says I am due a refund but I never receive one for various reasons. Turbo tax gets there money 212 dollars and I get nothing. By the way turbo tax uses an ACH withdrawal from my bank account in the middle of the night to make sure they get paid while I get nothing seems unfair
  2. [R7] 1/5 · US Scam: I chose the free version but turbo tax picked the TurboTax Online Do It Yourself Premium 2025 which is an extra $139. Won’t let me switch because they claim I already paid but I haven’t even filed yet. Wouldn’t recommend to anyone.
  3. [R10] 1/5 · US Not happy at all: I usually file with these guys every year. And every year there is an option to file free ad they advertise on tv. Well, this past year when I filed, I get an email saying that my bank will be charged $119.00 for a deluxe option that I never wanted and never selected. I’m moving on from these thieves. They are no better than the IRS. I learned my lesson. I just wanted let everyon
  4. [R18] 1/5 · US DO NOT USE TT- 10+ yr Customer Leaving for Good Reasons: Over the years turbo tax’s increasing greed has really been a turn off. It went from actually being free, to being over a $100 to file while every commercial still falsely advertises it “free” for the most basic. Well this year I went elsewhere and got faster filing that was ACTUALLY free. To top that off it’s very concerning to hear data is
  5. [R31] 1/5 · US Scammers: I would not recommend this return service to anybody ever. This is the second year in a row they tried to force me to buy their premium edition. When avoided entirely and making it to the very end they would not let me proceed without purchasing the deluxe edition. I did so in order to file and get it over with. My total was stated to be $118 at which time they asked for my payment metho
  6. [R2] 1/5 · US Terrible help after service: I did the payment plan option to make monthly payments for what I owed and it has been a nightmare ive talked to probably over 50 different people in the last 3 months and the bank and nobody can answer what the issue is thay say it good but the payment does not go through and if you schedule a call for help and don’t answer with in 5 seconds there are suddenly no long
  7. [R3] 1/5 · US Just go to a person: The AI chat bot it’s no help. I’ve been waiting on my returns for months and turbo tax helper does absolutely nothing. I can’t believe I paid my own money to do my own taxes. Just pay a human person to do them. This is not longer the convenience it was when it was free.
  8. [R9] 3/5 · US Disappeared: My turbo tax expert hasn’t messaged me in a month and I finally called to get reassigned and now the calls just drop when I get call backs. When I do get people they are nice, just likely will do my taxes in person next year after this experience. 5/18 update I ended up getting a great expert to help - sadly, I signed up in April for the $150 offer and the price ended up being $536.
  9. [R11] 1/5 · US No more. H&R Block is cheaper: It USED to be good. This year I had to buy the $350 tax package. $350!!! I’ve used turbo tax since the first year available For single use software!!!! Ive been rejected 3 times now. Their “expert advice” (yes I have unlimited help!) sits there asking me stupid questions for 30 minutes that have nothing todo with the problem
  10. [R5] 5/5 · US Scam: I didn’t receive my refund as promised under the terms of service., but yet you’re still attempting to charge me for an early refund Witness me. See you in court
  11. [R6] 1/5 · US Low refund: How can someone with 40k a year only get a couple hundred back. Please explain this to me in great detail cause it doesn’t make sense.
  12. [R15] 1/5 · US They incorrectly filed my taxes.: I’m a single person with no dependents who owns no property and has had one employer. I received a letter from the IRS shortly after filing my 2025 taxes (on time) with a $100+ penalty for miscalculating my 2025 taxes (I already paid $2,800.) TurboTax is supposed to have a penalty guarantee for this kind of thing, but I’ve received no help at all and only get AI
  13. [R58] 5/5 · US Very helpful: I love turbo tax because they are trustworthy and easy. I’ve used turbo tax for years. The free version because my taxes are easy, no brainer every year until this year. I had a 1099. It made it a bit more difficult. They only thing I did Not like was the scare tactics they used to get me to upgrade upgrade upgrade. I barely made $27,000. and as you know that’s not much money for
  14. [R59] 5/5 · US Tax: +1 star for tax. +1 star for credits. +1 star for refund. +1 star for deductions. +1 star for the service.
  15. [R63] 5/5 · US First time doing taxes: This was my first time doing taxes and I would definitely recommend it. Since it was my first time and i’m not that well educated on this subject i decided to go in person and get help with someone. She told me i would be returned $500 but she was charging me $250 for her service- I was shocked by the price she was charging me and starting exploring other options. I decide
  16. [R81] 5/5 · US TurboTax is great unless you get Andrew C: Been using TurboTax for about 9 years now and usually have an easy time doing my taxes. Highly recommend it to anyone. However; my wife used TurboTax and decided to pay for a professional to do them for her. Andrew C. did my wife’s taxes and seemed to do a fine job at first. This was in March, at least a month before tax day. He calls a week later and s
  17. [R20] 1/5 · US Gone down hill: At this point, I would rather take my time out of my day to go to a bank to go have a bank teller do my taxes for me for free by the way, not like TurboTax says it’s gonna be free but then takes $80 out for using the app and then it took $40 out of my return For ALSO using the app so I don’t even understand what happened but they took $120 out of my tax return for no reason and I d

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store