Liberty Tax vs TurboTax: Which Company Is Best for Filing Taxes?

December 31st is the end of the tax year. Come January 1st, employees and small business owners alike start thinking about tax preparation. And now tax season is upon us. Unfortunately, most tax filers don’t feel like a tax pro. Even if their tax situation is very simple (they are employed at one workplace), filing individual returns can feel like climbing a mountain.

Some people turn to a tax expert in their social circle for help, but most folks don’t have an accountant on retainer. They’ll need to file themselves, with some tax software, or turn to a retail tax preparation service.

Tax preparation software should offer a friendly user experience. The best tax software should make tax form navigation simple, and it should help you find all the tax credit options to maximize your refund.

There are many options out there, and it can be hard to decide where to file your taxes. Let’s look at two popular tax companies and compare Liberty Tax vs TurboTax.

⭐ About Liberty Tax

Liberty Tax was started by Jackson Hewitt, co-founder of (drumroll please) Jackson Hewitt. Since 1997, Liberty Tax has touted itself as your friendly neighborhood tax specialist. They are known for their roadside marketing campaigns, which often involve wavers dressed up as Uncle Sam or the Statue of Liberty.

Liberty Tax Pros

• Convenience: There are over 3,500 Liberty Tax retail locations, plus online filing options.
• Referrals: Liberty Tax has a referral program and pays $50 per referral.
• Refund Guarantees: Liberty Tax will match better Federal refunds and reimburse you if there are mistakes in your return that lead to a smaller refund.

Liberty Tax Cons

• Not Free: Unlike other online competitors, Liberty Tax filings start at $45.95
• Opaque Pricing: Liberty Tax pricing is not 100% clear before you start filing

⭐ About TurboTax

TurboTax does not have brick-and-mortar retail locations, but is one of the most popular tax filing software in the United States. The parent company behind TurboTax is Intuit, which is also behind Quickbooks, Mint, and Credit Karma. Intuit products are geared toward consumers in need of managing their personal finances. As such, TurboTax touts itself to be an easy way to electronically file your tax return.

TurboTax Pros:

• It’s Free: TurboTax is free for around 37% of filers with simple returns.
• It’s Friendly: TurboTax has a fairly easy user interface that guides you through your return.
• It’s Mobile: TurboTax has a mobile app for users who are on the go, or who find app interfaces easier than desktop layouts.

TurboTax Cons:

• Costs: Although simple returns are free, more complicated returns can escalate in price.
• Limited Support: Unlike other tax retailers, TurboTax does not have in-person help, and phone assistance is limited to certain hours.
• Potential Upselling: Some filers have expressed feeling pressured to upgrade or purchase additional products to service their return.

⭐ Tax Products

Liberty Tax

Liberty Tax offers a unique solution that other companies do not have: file your taxes remotely. You don’t have to walk into a retailer, and you don’t have to do them yourself. You just download the mobile app, snap pictures of your documents, and a tax professional does the rest. The average turnaround time for this method is 3-5 days.

Want to meet with someone in person? Walk-ins are always welcome. If you haven’t spotted a waver on the sidewalk dressed as Lady Liberty or Uncle Sam, book an appointment online. You can filter locations based on what you need: Spanish-speaking, ITIN assistance, debt resolution, payroll services, tax planning, and easy advances.

👉 Find a Liberty Tax location: https://www.libertytax.com/schedule-an-appointment

Want to file online, yourself? State returns will cost $36.95 per state. The cost of everything else is listed below. Keep in mind that you’ll need to add that $36.95 to your plan cost. For example, a premium return for an independent contractor is actually going to cost $122.90.

TurboTax

Intuit prides itself on user-friendly interfaces. When starting your tax filing journey, you’ll be prompted to filter through the options most applicable to you.

There are three main choices for how you want to go about your tax prep: DIY (do it yourself), live assistance, and DIFM (do it for me). Let’s take a look at some of the common tax situations within each pricing category. Keep in mind that there are many more permutations we did not list here (contributed to charity, unemployment income, etc.).

Your next choice is live assistance. This means that a team of tax experts is available to answer your questions as you file. They can also review your return before submitting it.

TurboTax's specialty is its Live Full Service, which we have renamed (for the sake of clarity) Do It For Me. When prices are not on sale, these services can range from $129 to $429. However, we have listed TurboTax’s slashed pricing.

⭐ Tax Services

Liberty Tax

TurboTax online doesn’t provide any in-person option for discussing your tax return face-to-face. By contrast, Liberty Tax Service does. Sure, there is the Liberty Tax online option. These options (prices discussed above) come with customer support, and there is no free edition.

Or do you? If the situation becomes too complicated, you’ll need to upgrade to assisted or pro plans. These pricing points are not listed on the website. However, they do come with a Liberty Tax review to make sure your return is correctly filled out and maximizes your refunds.

Remember you can also go in person. Liberty is one of those brick-and-mortar retailers, like H&R Block. Comparing Liberty Tax vs H&R Block will depend on several factors like proximity to your location, customer service, and the level of tax help you need.

TurboTax

The TurboTax Free Edition can provide AI assistance for filing your taxes. It will do just fine for most filers, especially with simple returns. However, if you start having questions and need more help, you’ll need to pay for the TurboTax Live Assisted basic package. This puts a network of experts just a phone call away.

If this is still too frustrating, you can always go with the Turbotax Full Service. This TurboTax premium package is a hands-off option where you just send in your forms and let a tax expert do it for you.

No tax school attendance or tax stress is necessary on your part. In truth, other companies like H&R Block offer this full service. When you compare TurboTax vs H&R Block, consider the costs and level of service needed.

⭐ Customer Service

Liberty Tax

Liberty Tax provides live phone assistance Monday through Friday, from 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM. Just call 1-866-871-1040. Live chat is also available from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Want to speak to a local office? Call 1-866-309-3207 or use their Office Locator. You can also email a nearby location by sending your queries to [email protected].

Wondering where your refund is? There’s a refund tracker tool you can check out for both state and federal refunds.

TurboTax

TurboTax can be reached at 1-800-444-1040. Their assistance hours are Monday through Friday, from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM EST (with extended hours during tax season), and Saturdays, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Like Chick-fil-A, TurboTax assistance is closed on Sundays (and holidays as well).

TurboTax live chat is available 7 days a week, from 8:00 AM to midnight. TurboTax does not have brick-and-mortar retail locations where you can speak to a person face-to-face. Also, keep in mind that customer support cannot provide tax advice. If you want some more detailed or nuanced help, that means upgrading to one of the live or full live services.

Both LibertyTax and TurboTax have a social media presence. However, even though you can chat there, you may get more helpful assistance by calling in—and you certainly won’t get tax advice over Instagram.

⭐ Refunds

Liberty Tax Refunds

Liberty Tax can set up your tax refund to go right into your bank account via direct deposit. This is an ACH transfer from the IRS that uses your bank account number and routing number and usually occurs within 21 days.

Direct Deposit is one of the quickest ways to get your refund, faster than a paper check (which you can choose to receive, for whatever reason—for instance, you don’t want it to go into a certain bank account, or you are unbanked). Checks may take up to 6 weeks.

Liberty Tax also provides the option of receiving your refund on a prepaid Netspend Mastercard. Another option is called the Refund Transfer. This involves the IRS cutting a check to Liberty, who will remove your tax filing fees from the total and send you the remainder via direct deposit.

Liberty Tax also has an option to receive a cash advance on your refund. This is provided by their partner, Republic Bank. You can get up to $6,250. However, this is essentially a loan. It will have an interest rate based on your creditworthiness and other factors. Liberty also eliminated its no-fee originations after filing for bankruptcy in 2023.

TurboTax Refunds

TurboTax provides many of the same options as Liberty Tax (and for that matter, most accounting firms). You can get your refund as a direct deposit, or a check cut from the IRS. You can also get your refund sent to a prepaid Visa debit card managed by Turbo’s partner, Green Dot Bank. Refund options are pretty standard among different companies. You won’t find so much difference between, say, FreeTaxUSA vs TurboTax. However, not all companies offer cash advance options.

⭐ Payments If You Owe Money

Some taxpayers will owe money to the IRS, instead of getting a tax refund. You do not have to pay your taxes through TurboTax or Liberty Tax, although if you file online, you may be given the option of completing your payment through a partnering payment gateway.

You can also pay right on the IRS website, or send them a check. If you e-file your taxes, go to the IRS website, or your state website (to pay state taxes), keep in mind there will probably be a convenience fee between 2-3% for using a credit or debit card.

Can’t pay your taxes all at once? The IRS will let you go on a payment plan. There are short and long-term payment plan agreements. Keep in mind there are fees to set up the installment plans, and they are subject to variable interest rates (which right now are around 8%).

⭐ Liberty Tax versus TurboTax: Which Is Better?

So what’s the best place to get your taxes done cheap?

It’s hard to give a direct answer to this question because everyone has a different taxable situation (W2 versus 1099, single, married, dependents, homeowner, etc.). However, there are a few pros and cons we can weigh.

First off, TurboTax is free for around 37% of tax filers. By contrast, the Liberty online tax filing starts at around $45. On the other hand, while Liberty is not extremely transparent about their most assistance-heavy tax products, from the looks of it their $122 for “complex” returns beats the $300+ of TurboTax’s Do-It-For-Me products.

Liberty Tax also has retail locations where you can go in and speak to somebody in person. For certain tax filers, this might carry a winning edge. Their cash advance option also runs up to $6,500, while TurboTax is capped at $4000. However, TurboTax cash advance options do not have origination fees.

Both companies say they will “guarantee” your refund by matching any better refund offers you get from other firms. What they don’t say is that these guarantees have some nuances. For instance, they may only apply if you use the most assistance-heavy products (e.g. do it for me). Your best bet is to call and ask detailed questions about what the guarantee entails.

TurboTax also has a cash advance refund option. Here there is a slight advantage (perhaps) over Liberty Tax because the loan fees are $0. However, your interest rate might be the same or higher. It’s hard to say, and you can’t really “shop around” because you can’t file a tax return twice. Keep in mind that the limit is up to $4,000. You also need to have the cash advance sent into a Credit Karma Money account, which you can open as part of the application process if you don’t have one already.

As you can see, it’s hard to say what’s the best tax software for everyone. The free edition of TurboTax is probably best for W2 filers with no dependents. Although the “true” pricing points of Liberty Tax service for more complicated returns are hidden, it’s similar to TurboTax Full Service. The upside to Liberty is its in-person tax preparation. That might be better for individual returns that are more complicated.

In the end, it comes down to your personal preferences. If your taxes aren't too complicated and you qualify for free filing, we recommend TurboTax. But if your taxes are more complicated and you'd like to meet with someone face to face, we recommend going with Liberty Tax.