Nowadays, there are so many different tax software products available to help you file your taxes quickly and easily from home. Some of the most common names in tax filing software include TurboTax, TaxAct, and H&R Block. However, today, I'm going to add a new product to that list for you: e-file.com.
E-file.com is one of your top options if you are looking for software to help you file your taxes to the IRS this 2020 tax season.
I recommend e-file.com to users who have some general knowledge of tax filing already, and they're looking for a tax filing system that allows them to prepare and submit their taxes quickly and accurately.
In today's article, I'm going to go over all the features that make e-file.com a logical and trustworthy e-filing choice for taxpayers in America. Keep on reading for my e-file.com reviews.
What Exactly Is E-File.com?
E-file.com is a secure online platform that allows users to file their Federal and State taxes to the IRS from their home computer, without the need of cumbersome and tedious paper forms.
It is important to note that e-file.com is not the same as efile.com (notice the hyphen difference in the URL)
While these companies have similar web addresses, they offer two very different Tax Services.
E-file.com offers as its web name suggestions: e-filing. Since the dawn of e-filing in the 1980's, and the significant spike in the way that technology has changed humans everyday routines, the practice of filing taxes online through programs like e-file.com has become increasingly popular.
In fact, the IRS has even come to prefer taxpayers filing their tax returns through online platforms inside of traditional paper and mail options.
In short, e-filing is the present and future of doing your taxes, and e-file.com offers a variety of services to make your tax filing experience a whole lot easier.
What Are The Advantages Of Filing Your Taxes Online With E-File.com?
E-file.com is one of the more popular choices for taxpayers who wish to file their taxes on their own, without an accountant. Here are a few factors that make e-file.com such an attractive choice for consumers:
It is more secure. By allowing you to prepare and file your Federal and State taxes all in one place, your documents remain safe and easy to find. Some folks even consider these online options safer than traditional mail and paper processes.
E-filing creates less errors. With E-File.com’s straightforward and accessible user interface, tax filing accuracy is at your fingertips.
In fact, e-file.com states that on average, paper forms have an error rate of 20%, in comparison to forms submitted electronically that have an error rate of less than 1%.
Using e-file.com is very convenient. Other tax filing options require you to make appointments with an accountant or visit the post office frequently, which peoples’ busy schedules may not allow for. Rather, the e-file.com form options, you can work on your taxes whenever you want to, from the comfort of your home.
E-filing with e-file.com is fast. In comparison to both manual tax filing options and other online tax filing services, e-file.com is arguably the fastest and most time efficient option (which in turn makes tax filing less of a headache inducing process!).
In fact, e-file.com boasts that e-file.com taxes can often be filed by users in less than 15 minutes, which is really record time for most folks.
Get your money sooner. With e-file.com taxes, you can receive your tax return sooner than you would with regular mail service.
Better yet, by filing your taxes electronically and selecting E-File.com’s “direct deposit” option, your Federal tax return will appear directly in your bank account, in record time.
E-File.com Plans and Pricing
To be accessible and functional for all users, e-file.com offers three different service tiers for prospective users, all with competitive pricing.
As well, no matter which plan you select, e-file.com taxes allows taxpayer users the same state plan return price for multiple state returns.
This is unique and advantageous when compared to other popular e-filing services that will charge you separately for each of your state returns.
Moreover, and aside from e-file.com taxes edition you sign up for from the list below, e-file.com also offers a coupon code that gives you your state return for only $21.
1. Free Federal Edition: As the name suggests, this e-filing program is free for users who sign up for a free account on e-file.com. Single and joint filers who do no have dependents are most likely to opt for this free e-filing service.
With the e-file.com Free Federal Edition, you benefit from free Federal tax filing, filing support, and a speedy tax return that, if you prefer, will arrive via direct deposit to your account.
2. Deluxe Plus Edition: This e-file.com plan requires a single $25.99 payment to access, although it is often on sale for the low price of $19.49.
E-file.com’s Deluxe service is more useful to taxpayers with dependents, and or for folks who are filing with mortgage interest, retirement income, or who have an income of up to 100K.
3. Premium Edition: The Premium e-filing service on e-file.com has users pay a bit more than the previous option; the Premium edition goes for $45.99 and at times drops to an attractive sale price of $34.49.
By signing up for the Premium edition of e-file.com, you get access to more enhanced filing features that are appealing to taxpayers who file more complex income forms, including investment, self employment, rental property, or small-business income.
As well, Premium users benefit from e-file.com itemized tax deductions and flexibility for all credit schedule support.
Users who pay for the Deluxe or Premium edition of e-file.com taxes preparation also benefit from telephone support by a qualified support team.
All of these features and editions combined make e-file.com one of the most affordable e-filing software services available to consumers today.
How To Use E-file.com Forms And E-file.com Taxes
E-file.com’s user friendly platform makes online tax filing a fast and simple process.
To begin, all you need to do is sign up for an account. Signing up with e-file.com is free and takes only a couple of minutes.
Once you have signed up for one of the three editions e-file.com offers, completing your e-file.com forms for tax preparation is easy with e-file.com’s unique “question and answer” based interface.
Basically, e-file.com will ask you a series of questions to help the online program familiarize itself with your needs. From this first survey, e-file.com suggests a series of tax forms and schedules that you will need for your tax filing process.
However, if you already know the forms you will need to complete your taxes, you can simply skip this process and jump to those particular e-file.com forms.
Then, when you are completing these e-file.com forms, e-file.com will prompt you to fill out the necessary boxes to ensure each form is complete.
How does e-file.com ensure accuracy in this process?
This e-filing service provides you with helpful tools to ensure you make no errors in your tax preparation. For example, e-file.com comes with in-program calculators to help you quickly understand your more complex tax situations.
As well, on the e-file.com forms exists a similar feature to “spell check”, where like a Word document will catch your typing errors, e-file.com can use logic to catch your input errors. Again, this ensures that you are getting real time assistance while filing your taxes from home.
To further assist you, e-file.com has a neat feature called “knowledge articles” to allow you to click and learn more about different filing features on e-file.com. This is particularly useful when you are working with more complex aspects of tax preparation or tax law.
Finally, when you are filing out your e-file.com forms for your Federal or State tax return, you have the option between using two different interfaces, “traditional” and “guided”.
Users who are more experienced with filing their own taxes may opt for the “traditional” screen that lets you navigate your filing more independently. In comparison, the “guided” features on e-file.com give users more support in form completion. Both interfaces are intuitively designed and give a straightforward and “no-frills” approach to tax e-filing.
However, other e-file.com reviews, including my own experience, note that e-file.com does not have as much integrated support in comparison to other popular online tax services. For this reason, e-file.com may not be the most supportive choice for folks who are filing their taxes online for the very first time.
Customer Service with E-file.com
Even though you are filing your taxes independently from home with e-file.com, you are not alone if you need assistance.
E-file.com knows that from time to time you will have questions about your tax return process, and they know the reality of calling the IRS for help: especially during peak tax season, there can be very long wait times when you call the IRS for phone support.
So, e-file.com has a solution: their very own certified tax filing support team, who can answer your questions when you need customer support. Not only do you have a team of experts at your disposal with e-file.com, but this customer support team is committed to timely responses to respect your time and needs.
To begin the customer support process, all users have the option to request help by an email-based ticketing system. Simply email in your question, and e-file.com promises you a quick response to solve your present concerns in an efficient way.
Are you someone who prefers a more personal touch when it comes to customer support? Opt for the Deluxe or Premium e-file.com tax filing editions, which come with immediate phone support for users.
E-file.com: Additional Features
When I used e-file.com to file my taxes, here are some further features that I found made my user experience even more convenient:
Go Back To Previous Tax Returns
For no additional fee, e-file.com allows you to go back and complete your tax returns from previous years if you still need to do so.
Put your Tax Return to Good Use
You can pay for your e-file.com plan fees with your tax refund. As well, for some folks this will eliminate the need to give e-file.com your credit card to pay for the service.
Have An Audit?
E-file.com will provide audit assistance that you can choose to opt in for when you first join e-file.com. This way, if the IRS completes an audit on you, you will have the support from e-file.com to communicate with the IRS for you, and provide you with important updates on the progress of the audit.
Saves as you Work
If you need to stop and start your tax filing process while using e-file.com, you need not worry. Another attractive feature of e-file.com’s intelligent interface is that the program automatically saves your work for you, so that you have even more flexibility regarding the time frame in which you complete your e-filing with e-file.com.
E-File.com Pros and Cons:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Affordable, low cost plans | • Requires some prior knowledge of tax filing process |
| • Easy to user interface, customizable to your own preferences and needs | • Must pay for State return |
| • Free Federal tax return | |
| • Receive your tax return quickly | |
| • More support for ensuring accuracy in filing | |
| • Fast filing process to save your time | |
| • Knowledge articles for learning more about filing rules | |
| • Responsive customer service | |
| • Secure process |
Bottom Line
Overall, if you are in need of an easy to use, no nonsense, affordable, and accurate e-filing system, look for further than e-file.com.
