2020 update:
- Max refund guarantee has been increased to a maximum of $100. There is now a $25 minimum
- Free audit defense. More details on this can be found here.
December 2017 Update: Credit Karma has added a number of new features:
- Click and fill: You can import Form W-2 from supporter major payroll providers or a mobile device
- Easy Switch: If you used H&R Block, TurboTax or TaxAct last year you can import your past return data automatically
- Mobile filing: You can fill out portions of your return on a mobile device and then complete it when you’re back at a computer (or vice versa)
- Max Refund guarantee: $25 gift card if you receive a higher return from another tax preparation software when using the same tax return information.
Original post: In December 2016Â Credit Karma that they would be offering free tax returns for their users. Credit Karma is most known as a free credit monitoring tool (and one of the websites we recommend using to monitor your credit for free). Given the fact that free credit monitoring and free FICO scores are becoming more common place, Credit Karma has been looking to expand their offerings and the latest is this free tax return offer.
The service is completely free & no credit card is required (they make their money by marketing to you, if you’re a regular Doctor of Credit reader then you should be able to spot the bad deals). They are providing free tax returns for both federal & state taxes. You can view a list of supported forms here. I personally pay an accountant to handle my taxes for me, so I can’t really comment on how useful their offering is. If anybody has used it, or plans to use it I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Also feel free to share other options out there.
