If you only have five minutes before picking a tax product this filing season, here's the short version: TaxAct is the better default for solo filers with a straightforward Form 1040 plus Schedule C who want the lowest predictable price. TurboTax earns its higher price when you want a more polished guided interview, stronger document and photo import, or a clear upgrade path into Intuit's expert-assisted and business-tax services. Neither is the obvious pick if you're running — or considering — an S-corp; that decision changes the math enough to deserve its own section below.
This comparison is written for freelancers, consultants, and creators filing as sole proprietors or single-member LLCs, plus solo operators weighing an S-corp election as revenue grows. It isn't for W-2 employees with no side income — both providers push those filers toward tiers that can't actually handle business income — and it isn't a full accounting-software comparison. This is specifically about which tax product fits a business-of-one, at what real 12-month cost, and where each one runs out of road.
Why “self-employed tax software” isn't one category
Most comparisons treat TurboTax and TaxAct as interchangeable — “Self-Employed” on one side, “Premium” on the other, pick the cheaper box. That framing breaks down fast for solos, because your actual filing need changes shape as your business grows. A $45,000 side-hustler with one Schedule C needs almost nothing beyond guided DIY. A $90,000 full-time consultant needs solid Schedule C support plus enough confidence to handle home-office and mileage deductions correctly. A $180,000 agency-of-one considering an S-corp needs an entirely different product tier — a business return (Form 1120-S) alongside a personal 1040, not just a beefed-up version of the same self-employed tier.
Pricing on both platforms is also genuinely dynamic. TaxAct's own pages show more than one figure for its Xpert Assist add-on, and TurboTax's official pages expose more than one state-filing number without clearly labeling which applies where. Treat every price below as accurate as of mid-2026 and confirm the exact total at checkout before you commit — this is one of the few areas where “close enough” isn't close enough.
TurboTax vs TaxAct pricing at a glance (as of mid-2026)
| Tier | TaxAct | TurboTax |
|---|---|---|
| Free filing | $0, but excludes self-employment income | $0 Free Edition, but excludes 1099-NEC and business income |
| Standard self-employed DIY | $109.99 federal + $64.99 per state | $139 federal + state additional (commonly near $64-$69, confirm at checkout) |
| Guided expert review add-on | Xpert Assist, roughly $45-$60 depending on page and bundle — pricing is inconsistent across TaxAct's own site | Expert Assist, roughly $89-$209 depending on return complexity |
| Full-service (they file it) | Business full-service starts near $219 + $69 for all states | Starting around $100 for simple returns, rising with forms used, state additional |
| DIY S-corp business return | $169.99 + state additional | Not sold as low-cost DIY; routed to Expert Assist Business ($639+) or Full Service ($1,549+) |
The three-persona test: what does a year of filing actually cost?
List prices are a start, not the answer. The real comparison is total cost for your actual filing situation, plus what you get for the difference. Here's how that plays out for three common solo profiles.
Persona A: the $45,000 side-hustler
Picture a W-2 employee running a $45,000 side business — one Schedule C, no payroll, one state. This is the simplest self-employed filing situation either product handles, and it's where price differences matter most because the return itself doesn't justify paying for extra hand-holding.
TaxAct's Self-Employed Online tier runs $109.99 federal plus $64.99 for one state, landing at $174.98 total. TurboTax's Do It Yourself Premium tier lists at $139 federal, and with state filing added — TurboTax's own pages show state costs somewhere in the $64-$69 range depending on which page you check — the realistic total lands around $203 to $208. That puts TaxAct roughly $28 to $33 cheaper for an identical filing outcome.
At this income level, that gap is real money. TurboTax only closes it if its smoother interview flow, receipt and photo import, or prior-year carryover save enough time and frustration to be worth the premium. Skip both providers' free tiers here — neither one is built to handle self-employment income at $0.
Persona B: the $90,000 full-time consultant
Now picture someone consulting full time, netting roughly $90,000 before tax planning, filing one Schedule C with home-office, mileage, and software deductions, in one state. This filer often wants at least the option of expert review, even if they end up filing DIY.
TaxAct's DIY Self-Employed cost is the same $174.98. Add expert review and the total lands somewhere between $219.98 and $234.98 — the range exists because TaxAct's own pages quote different Xpert Assist prices depending on which page and bundle you use, so treat this as an estimate to confirm before checkout. TurboTax's DIY Premium comes in around $203 to $208, and adding its top-tier Expert Assist puts the estimated total near $273 to $278.
If this consultant wants a human review, TaxAct's path is meaningfully cheaper on paper — but the pricing inconsistency on TaxAct's own site means you should get a firm number before checkout rather than assuming the lower end applies. And at $90,000, the software choice matters far less than the underlying tax mechanics: clean bookkeeping, quarterly estimated payments, the qualified business income deduction, and health-insurance deductions are what actually move the needle. No software product replaces that planning.
Persona C: the $180,000 agency-of-one weighing an S-corp
This is where the comparison changes shape entirely. Picture a high-margin solo consultant or creator netting around $180,000, working with contractors but no employees, who is either already an S-corp or actively considering the election.
If this filer is still a sole proprietor, the math mirrors Persona B: TaxAct DIY at $174.98 versus TurboTax DIY Premium at an estimated $203 to $208. But if the filer needs an actual S-corp business return — Form 1120-S plus a K-1 flowing into a personal 1040 — the comparison isn't “Self-Employed” versus “Premium” anymore.
TaxAct sells a DIY 1120-S return at $169.99 plus state additional, with an Xpert Assist option around $258.99 plus state, and a full-service S-corp option at $299 plus $69 for all states. TurboTax's current online path for S-corps skips the low-cost DIY tier entirely: Expert Assist Business lists at $639 plus state additional, and Full Service Business lists at $1,549 plus state additional.
For an operator already comfortable with their books who has filed as an S-corp before, TaxAct's DIY business-return path can be dramatically cheaper. But the real question for this persona isn't “which self-employed product is cheaper” — it's whether this is still a Schedule C filing or whether it now needs a full entity-return workflow with payroll and reasonable-compensation support. A first-year S-corp election in particular carries payroll setup, accountable-plan, and reasonable-salary questions where getting it wrong can cost far more than any software savings — that's a conversation for a CPA, not a pricing page.
| Persona | TaxAct estimated total | TurboTax estimated total |
|---|---|---|
| $45K side-hustler, DIY | $174.98 | $203-$208 |
| $90K consultant, DIY | $174.98 | $203-$208 |
| $90K consultant, with expert review | $219.98-$234.98 (contested) | $273-$278 (estimated) |
| $180K agency-of-one, S-corp DIY business return | $169.99 + state | Not a DIY option; Expert Assist Business from $639 + state |
TaxAct Self-Employed: strengths, limits, and who it actually fits
TaxAct's Self-Employed Online tier is priced at $109.99 federal plus $64.99 per state as of mid-2026, positioned specifically for independent contractors, side-hustlers, and self-employed filers reporting Schedule C income and expenses.
Where it's strong: it's the lower settled price against TurboTax's Premium DIY tier under current list pricing, it explicitly supports Schedule C deductions, and it offers a genuinely low-cost DIY path into business returns — sole proprietor, partnership ($159.99), S-corp ($169.99), C-corp ($169.99), and estates and trusts ($149.99), all plus state additional. That business-return breadth is TaxAct's real differentiator once a solo operator outgrows Schedule C.
Where it falls short: its own pricing pages disagree on the Xpert Assist add-on cost — you'll see figures as low as $45 and as high as $60 depending on which page and bundle you land on, which makes it hard to budget precisely before checkout. TaxAct also explicitly does not support importing from Quicken or QuickBooks, so if your bookkeeping already lives in QuickBooks, you'll be re-entering data by hand. Its free tier, like TurboTax's, excludes freelance, contractor, and self-employed income entirely — don't let a “$0” headline pull you toward a tier that can't handle your return.
Who it's for: price-sensitive Schedule C filers, and solo operators who want an affordable DIY path if they later need an S-corp or partnership return.
Skip it if: your bookkeeping depends on QuickBooks or Quicken import, or you want one clean, unambiguous expert-assist price before you start rather than confirming it mid-checkout.
TurboTax Premium: strengths, limits, and who it actually fits
TurboTax's Do It Yourself Premium tier is listed at $139 federal with state filing additional as of mid-2026, and it's built to cover self-employed workers, freelancers, investors, and rental property owners in one product — broader scope than TaxAct's Self-Employed tier, which is more tightly focused on Schedule C.
Where it's strong: the import and convenience layer is genuinely ahead of TaxAct's — 1099-NEC and 1099-K snap-and-autofill, crypto transaction import, investment import from a long list of institutions, and a self-employment deduction sync feature. It also gives you a clear runway upward: Expert Assist for on-demand advice and a final review, Full Service if you want someone else to file entirely, and dedicated business products for sole proprietors, S-corps, and partnerships if you incorporate.
Where it falls short: the pricing is genuinely harder to pin down than TaxAct's — official TurboTax pages show more than one state-filing figure and more than one DIY price range, so “state additional” is the honest framing rather than a fixed number. The self-employment deduction sync feature currently has limited availability and works with a single Schedule C only, so if you run more than one unrelated solo business, don't assume it will sync everything automatically. And TurboTax's online business products currently don't support C-corps, trusts and estates, tax-exempt entities, or returns needing more than five state filings.
Who it's for: self-employed filers who want the smoothest guided interview and document import, especially those already inside the Intuit and QuickBooks ecosystem.
Skip it if: your return is a straightforward single Schedule C and price is your main criterion, or you need a low-cost DIY S-corp return — TurboTax's online S-corp path is built around expert-assisted and full-service pricing, not a cheap DIY tier.
What about the new “no tax on tips” and 1099-K rules?
Two 2026-filing-season changes are worth knowing regardless of which software you choose. First, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act retroactively reinstated the older, higher Form 1099-K reporting threshold: third-party payment platforms generally only issue a 1099-K once you cross $20,000 and 200 transactions in a year. That's a reporting threshold, not a tax rule — income is taxable whether or not you receive a form, so don't treat “no 1099-K” as “no taxable income.”
Second, for tax year 2025 returns filed in 2026, the IRS introduced Schedule 1-A for a set of new deductions under the Working Families Tax Cuts provisions, including a qualified tips deduction available through tax year 2028. Self-employed workers can potentially deduct qualified tips, but the deduction is limited to net income from the specific trade or business where the tips were earned — it doesn't erase self-employment tax, and it doesn't apply broadly to all self-employment income. Both TurboTax and TaxAct should walk you through Schedule 1-A if it applies, but whether it applies to your specific situation is worth confirming with a CPA or enrolled agent, especially in this first filing year.
Who should skip both — and file differently instead
If you already have $400 or more in net self-employment earnings, the IRS requires you to file and calculate self-employment tax on Schedule SE regardless of which product you use — that threshold hasn't changed. For most solos under roughly $90,000, self-employment income is subject to Social Security tax up to the annual wage base, which sits at $176,100 for tax year 2025 and rises to $184,500 for tax year 2026. Above that, the Medicare portion still applies with no cap.
Neither TurboTax nor TaxAct is the right tool if you're mid-multi-state expansion, mid-S-corp-election, or dealing with depreciation recapture, vehicle-use changes, or an amended prior-year return. Both products can prepare the forms, but neither replaces the judgment call a CPA or enrolled agent makes on reasonable compensation, accountable plans, or nexus — get that input before you file, not after.
Where this fits in your solo financial OS
Tax filing software sits in the Foundation layer of a solo operator's financial stack — it's the compliance layer that has to work correctly before anything else, from banking to retirement planning, really matters. Pair whichever product you choose with a consistent bookkeeping habit through the year; see our self-employment tax guide for solo operators for the quarterly-estimate and recordkeeping side of this, and our 1099-K rules guide if you're unsure whether a platform payout will trigger a form this year.
If you're not sure where tax software fits relative to your banking, bookkeeping, and entity decisions overall, the Solo Financial Operating System overview and the Solo Financial Stack Blueprint map the full stack layer by layer. And if you're trying to figure out whether you've outgrown a simple Schedule C setup — the exact fork Persona C sits on — the Solo Operator Financial Maturity Model is built to answer that.
The bottom line
For a straightforward Schedule C solo — most side-hustlers and full-time freelancers — TaxAct's Self-Employed tier is the more defensible default on price alone, at $174.98 for a typical one-state return versus TurboTax Premium's estimated $203 to $208. TurboTax earns the premium back if its import tools, guided experience, or Intuit ecosystem genuinely save you time or reduce filing anxiety — that's a real value, just not a universal one.
Once you're weighing or running an S-corp, stop comparing “Self-Employed” tiers altogether. TaxAct's DIY business-return pricing is meaningfully cheaper on paper, but the decision that actually matters at that income level — reasonable compensation, payroll setup, accountable plans — is not one either piece of software should make for you. Run the numbers, then run them past a CPA before you file.
Frequently asked questions
Is TurboTax or TaxAct cheaper for self-employed filers in 2026?
For a basic one-state Schedule C return, TaxAct is currently cheaper: $109.99 federal plus $64.99 per state, near $174.98 total. TurboTax's Premium DIY lists at $139 federal with state additional, and its exact state figure varies by page, so the realistic total typically lands somewhat higher. Confirm both at checkout.
Can I use the free version of TurboTax or TaxAct if I have 1099-NEC income?
Generally no. TurboTax's Free Edition excludes business and 1099-NEC income, and TaxAct's Free tier excludes freelance, contractor, side-hustle, and self-employed income and expenses. Real self-employment income requires the paid Self-Employed or Premium tier on either platform.
Does TaxAct support Schedule C for freelancers and contractors?
Yes. TaxAct's Self-Employed Online tier is built for independent contractors, side-hustlers, and self-employed individuals, including Schedule C income, expenses, and business deductions.
Does TurboTax Premium work for freelancers and independent contractors?
Yes. TurboTax's Do It Yourself Premium tier covers the forms needed for self-employment income and adds import tools, like 1099-NEC snap-and-fill, that go beyond what TaxAct offers.
Which is the better fit if I already use QuickBooks?
TurboTax generally fits QuickBooks-adjacent workflows better. TaxAct states it does not support importing from Quicken or QuickBooks, while TurboTax's tools reference connecting accounts and importing expense data for Schedule C filers.
Which is cheaper for a solo S-corp owner?
Based on current list pricing, TaxAct's DIY S-corp return is meaningfully cheaper than TurboTax's online S-corp path, which centers on expert-assisted and full-service pricing rather than a low-cost DIY option. A first-year S-corp election still involves payroll and reasonable-compensation questions worth reviewing with a CPA regardless of software choice.