• Free1040TaxReturn

Is this your business?

Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and manage your listing.

Claim Your Business
Is this your business?

Overview

Free1040TaxReturn has a rating of 1.19 stars from 74 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about Free1040TaxReturn most frequently mention customer service, phone number, and state taxes problems. Free1040TaxReturn ranks 47th among Tax Preparation sites.

  • Service
    4
  • Value
    3
  • Shipping
    1
  • Returns
    3
  • Quality
    3
5
See all photos

What reviewers want you to know

Positive highlights

No positive highlights yet

Critical highlights

  • I am just disgusted with their lack of customer service!
  • Additionally, my state return was rejected three times and they charged me to re-submit it!
How would you rate Free1040TaxReturn?
Top Positive Review

“I am amazed at the long string of negative reviews...”

David D.
4/3/14

I am amazed at the long string of negative reviews here. They are unwarranted. I used free1040taxreturn.com to file two federal returns for 2013, one on behalf of a friend and my personal return. The refund of my friend was received via direct deposit. I just filed my return on 4/1/14, not long enough ago to have received my refund. In both cases, I filed for free. So, let me address this point since many of the reviews say it's not free. First, you MUST go to free1040taxreturn.com FROM irs.gov. If you just go directly to free1040taxreturn.com, it will not be free. Assuming you go to free1040taxreturn.com the proper way, you will not be charged to file the federal return. This is true for all the free e-filing services that have an agreement with the IRS; they must be accessed by the taxpayer from irs.gov to create the account on the e-filing website and complete the tax return. If you identify a state in which you reside and that state requires an income tax return, then free1040taxreturn.com will charge a fee for filing the state return. If you identify your state and you do not want to file your state tax return via free1040taxreturn.com, you might find that the site seems to not let you complete the filing of your federal return; it appears to insist you can't go ahead and file your federal return without paying the fee to file your state return. Here's a trick that works. When prompted to click the drop down box showing a list of states, select "None of the above", the last item on the list. Then, you will be able to file the federal return for free and not be compelled to file a state return. If you had already passed that screen and you had selected a state, go back to that screen and change the selection to "None..." Of course, if you want to file your state return with them, then simply select your state and proceed. Another comment in one of the reviews said "YOU CANNOT PRINT YOUR RETURN OR EVEN VIEW WHAT YOU ENTERED!" Not true! You can view your tax return on the site and you can save and/or print it; it is a PDF form. Until finally completed and accepted by the IRS, the form(s) will have a watermark to indicate they are not for mailing to the IRS. Once the federal return has been electronically filed and accepted by the IRS, the completed forms will appear on the site without the watermark. Last year, I used FileYourTaxes.com and the only printout I could get after completing the entry of data was a summary sheet showing key data elements such as total income, total deductions, AGI, taxable income, etc., but no tax form could be printed. So, free1040taxreturn.com is better in this regard. In addition to viewing and/or printing forms on free1040taxreturn.com, you can always go back through the screens and review data you entered. When you sign on to a previously started session, you have the option starting where you left off or starting at the beginning and going through the screens again. The reviewer that made the comment quoted at the beginning of this paragraph obviously was not very adept at navigating the site.

Top Critical Review

“Worst tax return service ever”

Carlos D.
4/5/22

1st of all, is not free as stated, 2nd, forget about customer service, no way to communicate or get in touch with them, my 2020 return never made it to the IRS and now I'm screwed. Please, do not use them never ever, web page is not user friendly at all. WORST TAX SERVICE EVER!

Reviews (74)

Rating

Timeframe

Other

Reviews that mention popular keywords

customer service (16) state return (13)
Thumbnail of user carlosd344
1 review
0 helpful votes
April 5th, 2022

1st of all, is not free as stated, 2nd, forget about customer service, no way to communicate or get in touch with them, my 2020 return never made it to the IRS and now I'm screwed. Please, do not use them never ever, web page is not user friendly at all. WORST TAX SERVICE EVER!

Tip for consumers:
Avoid this web page for tax returns, NOT GOOD AT ALL !!!!!

Products used:
tax return service

Service
Value
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user davidd90
3 reviews
15 helpful votes
April 3rd, 2014

I am amazed at the long string of negative reviews here. They are unwarranted. I used free1040taxreturn.com to file two federal returns for 2013, one on behalf of a friend and my personal return. The refund of my friend was received via direct deposit. I just filed my return on 4/1/14, not long enough ago to have received my refund. In both cases, I filed for free. So, let me address this point since many of the reviews say it's not free. First, you MUST go to free1040taxreturn.com FROM irs.gov. If you just go directly to free1040taxreturn.com, it will not be free. Assuming you go to free1040taxreturn.com the proper way, you will not be charged to file the federal return. This is true for all the free e-filing services that have an agreement with the IRS; they must be accessed by the taxpayer from irs.gov to create the account on the e-filing website and complete the tax return.

If you identify a state in which you reside and that state requires an income tax return, then free1040taxreturn.com will charge a fee for filing the state return. If you identify your state and you do not want to file your state tax return via free1040taxreturn.com, you might find that the site seems to not let you complete the filing of your federal return; it appears to insist you can't go ahead and file your federal return without paying the fee to file your state return. Here's a trick that works. When prompted to click the drop down box showing a list of states, select "None of the above", the last item on the list. Then, you will be able to file the federal return for free and not be compelled to file a state return. If you had already passed that screen and you had selected a state, go back to that screen and change the selection to "None..." Of course, if you want to file your state return with them, then simply select your state and proceed.

Another comment in one of the reviews said "YOU CANNOT PRINT YOUR RETURN OR EVEN VIEW WHAT YOU ENTERED!" Not true! You can view your tax return on the site and you can save and/or print it; it is a PDF form. Until finally completed and accepted by the IRS, the form(s) will have a watermark to indicate they are not for mailing to the IRS. Once the federal return has been electronically filed and accepted by the IRS, the completed forms will appear on the site without the watermark. Last year, I used FileYourTaxes.com and the only printout I could get after completing the entry of data was a summary sheet showing key data elements such as total income, total deductions, AGI, taxable income, etc., but no tax form could be printed. So, free1040taxreturn.com is better in this regard. In addition to viewing and/or printing forms on free1040taxreturn.com, you can always go back through the screens and review data you entered. When you sign on to a previously started session, you have the option starting where you left off or starting at the beginning and going through the screens again. The reviewer that made the comment quoted at the beginning of this paragraph obviously was not very adept at navigating the site.

Thumbnail of user markd1501
1 review
0 helpful votes
July 24th, 2020

Before I start with the review, I was able to file my IL state taxes, free of charge, on the IL.Gov website; most states probably have that.

I filed my federal and state through this website for the first time. It is a bare bones site with minimal help if you are stuck. Federal taxes went fine, but the state was a nightmare. This conversation was not like a regular email back and forth. The customer can email them and they will respond, but you can't respond back after that; you need to go to the contact us screen, which is separate from where you get their response and start your issue from scratch again or hope the same person gets this new email. If you are wondering, there is no phone contact number.

The issue was regarding my Parcel Number which this site referred to as a "property identification number". After the return got rejected I received an automated message stating I needed to enter my property identification number and county. I contacted the site via email and it was a nightmare. I kept telling them I was entering the info being asked for and their response was "Please read the entire screen completely and carefully". That was after my third email. I would add my entire email to see demonstrate how thorough my email was, but there is not enough room (anyone can message me or comment me and I can get it to them.). After I wrote another long email stating that I did not appreciate his 8 word response to me and if he can clarify what exactly I need to do, he wrote "You need to read the screen completely and carefully, there is no issue with the software." That was my forth email over the course of about a month or two so I was done. I emailed him back stating that I would like a refund because I now need to spend money to have someone do my states taxes (that was before I learned that IL.gov has free software) his response was "The rejection notice tells you exactly why your return was rejected and on what screen to make the corrections. See the area in the support center to request a refund of fees paid."

I applied for a refund explaining what I told the other person - in reality the person that issues refunds is probably the same person I was emailing about the issue - and the refund was denied with this written "The rejection notice clearly tells you why it was rejected and what to fix and where."

I am not a tax expert, but I was able to get by with the state's software, so it is not too difficult. Actually the state software was a little better than free1040taxreturn's software.

Thumbnail of user cherylc846
1 review
3 helpful votes
April 6th, 2021

I filed 2020 taxes with this site, logged back in and it states I have a message and to click the help and support tab. I did so and NOTHING... Just a blank screen I also cannot get back to the completed taxes either... again... blank screen. ******DO NOT USE THIS PROGRAM**** I am truly disgusted with this service and it's a disgrace the way this service is set up. You cannot reach anyone by email or phone supposedly to protect the consumer, but who is the consumer to contact when the support and help tab doesn't work. If I cannot access my information, and I cannot get ANY support or help what am I the consumer to do. I repeat ****DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE**** IRS needs to remove them from their site as a service to use.

Tip for consumers:
****NO CONSUMER SUPPORT****

Products used:
File taxes

Service
Thumbnail of user nancyd912
1 review
3 helpful votes
November 17th, 2020

Half the time you can't sign on. There are no warnings that the taxes can't be filed after 10/15 and there is no way to print the documents to mail. It was a total rip off. I paid them, then had to go to another tax service and input my information all over again and pay them, just to file my taxes. I can't get signed on to freetax1040 to request a refund either. Very convenient for them! DO NOT USE THEM!

Thumbnail of user charliec218
1 review
2 helpful votes
May 11th, 2021

Used this service and then was told they might not be very good. Checked it against TaxSlayer and they were off by over a $1000. Had me owing money that i should not have owed. I spoke with customer service and they basically told me it wasn't their problem, STAY AWAY!

Thumbnail of user emryb
1 review
5 helpful votes
February 2nd, 2019

I used this program for my 2018 tax return which could have been easily filed as a short form. The Federal section is easy to use (as it should be for short returns) and computed correctly. I asked that my refund be applied to next year's taxes and herein lies a software glitch. The State section (AZ) automatically applied my state refund to next year's taxes rather than giving me the option of receiving a refund - SERIOUS FLAW that the company will not acknowledge. USE THIS PROGRAM AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Thumbnail of user ianr177
1 review
3 helpful votes
July 15th, 2020

I was able to file my federal return, but while it said I could file my state return on this site, when I elected to not file online to avoid paying the fee, it disappeared and I was unable to access anything having to do with my state returns. I now have to apply for an extension for my state returns and go through the process of filling everything out all over again. I still have access to my federal return through the website, but anything having to do with my previous return is inaccessible. The IRS should remove this terrible service from their website.

Thumbnail of user kittyc31
1 review
4 helpful votes
July 11th, 2020

I wish I would have seen the reviews for this platform before I wasted time trying to use it. If I trusted this system, I would have paid taxes instead of getting a $750 refund. Buyer beware! Use Turbo Tax and delete any info you put in their system.

Thumbnail of user kevinl209
1 review
3 helpful votes
February 19th, 2018

I have used other software programs to do taxes without a problem. I made the mistake of using this program. On State taxes it was especially awful. It didn't ask for much key information, which resulted in my owing over $600 instead of getting over $800 for a refund. When I contacted them about the problem, they gave a 1 line canned answer with no intention of fixing the problem. Federal also was wrong by over $1000. I ended up canceling my return and chose never to go with them... ever! Never seen anything this bad in my decades of doing taxes.

Thumbnail of user melissas176
1 review
4 helpful votes
February 15th, 2017

They didn't ask enough information about my health care for 2016 and submitted the WRONG address to the IRS so I never received a very important letter from the IRS about amending the information. I'm now looking at about 2 months from the filling date before I can even get any information on my return, which I'm going to assume isn't going to be the amount the site counted.
Seriously. Don't use this sketchy site. If I could request the IRS remove it from their page I would, but we all know how helpful the IRS is.

Thumbnail of user marielc8
1 review
3 helpful votes
April 11th, 2019

SCAM! I got a surprise of my life when I found out from the IRS that I apparently did not file my 2017 tax return but they already deducted my bank account for my tax due. Why? Because the money went to this Bogus site! I am sooo mad! This is a first time for me to be scammed! Please use LEGITIMATE, IRS-AUTHORIZED SITES ONLY! 0 stars if I could.

Thumbnail of user michaelj290
1 review
0 helpful votes
February 19th, 2018

They are listed under the IRS website as not state restricted for free filing. They let you get all the way through the filing process and then tell you that you do not qualify for free filing.

It's an attempt to get you to go ahead and pay because you already spent time filling out the information.

Tip for consumers:
Stay away, use a different site.

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user leel117
1 review
2 helpful votes
March 6th, 2018

Read review too late. The FREE is not true. The deceptive wording leads to getting all your personal info and banking info before they nail you with "IT'S NOT FREE".
Don't believe any state is free. So because there are free sites, this one makes me wonder. All that information could be their game. Don't do it.

Thumbnail of user darcies7
1 review
1 helpful vote
August 30th, 2019

THEY CHARGED MY ACCT AND ALSO SAID MY PAYMENT WAS DECLINED WHEN OBVIOUSLY IT WAS DEDUCTED FROM MY ACCOUNT. AND WHEN EMAILED ABOUT THE DENIED PAYMENT I RECEIVED A RUDE ANSWER BACK. MY INFO WAS STOLEN FROM HERE. WORSE WEBSITE EVER REMOVE REMOVE REMOVE

Thumbnail of user boba75
1 review
2 helpful votes
April 20th, 2017

Their software screwed up my return and I didn't catch it. Their customer service is non existant. I personally believe they are a hack site to steal personal information.

Thumbnail of user jessicaw13
1 review
0 helpful votes
November 13th, 2014

Hi,
My name is Jessica,
I totally disagree with the complaints for the Free1040taxreturn.com website. I just recently filed my taxes for my 2011 return through Free1040taxreturn.com. I will be receiving my return no later than January 31st 2012. I logged into the website and the website immediately tells you that their is a fee for processing your return. Even though the site is called "Free1040etc." if you read the front page of the website it distinctly stated in bold letters that their is a processing fee. Thus, I created an account and I chose the Long 1040 form to process my taxes. I put my info on the electronic form, I chose e-file, and I paid with my debit care (39.95). I chose to receive a paper check in the mail. 48hrs later I logged onto IRS.gov and I entered my income tax return information and my form was accepted by the IRS and my check was scheduled to be mailed to me and received by January 31st. For those of you who got denied or had any complications from this website, maybe you entered your info wrong or chose the wrong filing form. Plus, I got WAY more money back from this site than I would have from Turbotaxes, H&Rblock, Etc.

Thumbnail of user dougm61
1 review
4 helpful votes
March 8th, 2016

I got $85 more Federal refund and $68 more state refund using TaxAct due to Free1040TaxReturn not correctly including my HSA contribution on form 8889 and myhealth insurance premiums on the state tax form, respectively. I pointed this out to them and their canned response was "Your return is accurately calculated based on your input and current tax law. Please review your entries carefully." In many cases, they simply didn't ask enough questions to accurately calculate my taxes correctly. Their software needs to fix its many gaps!

Thumbnail of user jackr102
1 review
0 helpful votes
April 21st, 2017

Received a CP2000 notice from the IRS claiming I owed almost $1,000 for taxes due because Free1040TaxReturn botched up my 1040 income tax return for the year 2015.

Thumbnail of user judih8
1 review
5 helpful votes
May 2nd, 2016

I had no problems last year but this year was beyond frustrating! After I finished both Federal and state I started getting e-mails that my state rejected! So... I click on the link provided and I can't get in. You can not call anyone and you can not send a contact unless you get in. Somehow I finally got in by the previous years info and they said I went to the wrong site! HELLO - I went to the site that was provided! Anyway I get in there and it asks for last years AGI so I have to look it up. When I come back in it kicks me out and I can not get back in AGAIN! So I send a contact me from the previous years again and the girl tells me she shows I corrected it and it went in. I told her I did not. She said I did. Guess what I am getting again? E-mails stating my state rejected. I finally said the hell with them and went to the IL state site and filed. I tried others but you can not file state anywhere else unless you are filling Federal. I am sure there will be penalties for being late now! Awful customer service and awful website this year! BEWARE! I will not use them again.

Thumbnail of user jims136
1 review
8 helpful votes
April 7th, 2015

Wish I would have read these reviews first because I have learned the hard wayl FRAUD, SCAM! Steal money from your account! They reject your return and then charge you 8.90 to resubmit the return. I paid the fee because I wanted it submitted. They took the money out of my account 5 times! RUN! RUN FAST! Wish I could negative stars.

Thumbnail of user lyndad3
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
April 7th, 2014

I was charged a resubmission fee for something that was lacking in their instructions. You can't talk to a person and get responses via the site that are useless. My returns have been supposedly submitted but when I try to view them all I get are blank forms!

I'd really like to know why the IRS uses this as one of the sites to direct people to but I intend to get to the bottom of this. I am so mad! F

Thumbnail of user michaels255
1 review
4 helpful votes
April 14th, 2015

As others have correctly pointed out, this website is listed by the IRS as free and it says the word FREE on top of each page. But after you spent all that time entering your data, that's when they surprise you with a significant filing charge!

Additionally, my state return was rejected three times and they charged me to re-submit it! When you message customer service (can't call since there's no phone number), they usually respond with one condescending sentence that doesn't even answer your question, such as, "Please read the screens when you login completely and carefully."

To top it off, they told me I was getting a refund, but when my forms were finally submitted to the state, it magically changed and now I owe money. When I asked why there was such a change, they respond with, "Your return is accurately calculated based on your input and current tax law." And don't even bother to ask this website to refund their charge unless you want more snark responses.

Save yourself the aggravation do not use this site under any circumstances!

Tip for consumers:
BIG MISTAKE!!

Service
Value
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user susanl65
1 review
8 helpful votes
February 5th, 2015

I'm currently in the middle of a rejected return for invalid reasons. They WILL NOT respond to questions and there is no way to contact them by phone. They will not cancel the return and I'm not even sure of the status so I cannot refile elsewhere. Kind of in limbo. VERY DISAPPOINTED and ready to report them to the BBB.

Thumbnail of user jerseyb1
2 reviews
5 helpful votes
April 10th, 2015

A pure rip off. Fees are not revealed until the end, and they charge more if you wish to mail in your return. FREE 1040 TAX RETURN.COM is the website. Just one 1040A & a simple State return cost me over $90 and I owe taxes, I'm not getting a refund!

Sitejabber for Business

Gain trust and grow your business with customer reviews.

About the business

E-File your 1040ez, 1040 or 1040A and e-file your state tax return at the same time. It\'s easy, quick and secure.

How do I know I can trust these reviews about Free1040TaxReturn?

  • Sitejabber’s sole mission is to increase online transparency for buyers and businesses
  • Sitejabber has helped over 200M buyers make better purchasing decisions online
  • Suspicious reviews are flagged by our algorithms, moderators, and community members
Have a question about Free1040TaxReturn?

Is this your business?

Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and manage your listing.

Claim Your Business