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What is the Best Tax Prep Software in 2025? Know the Different Software, Benefits, and More
7 Min read Mark CalatravaOctober 24th, 2025

What is the Best Tax Prep Software in 2025? Know the Different Software, Benefits, and More

If you are looking for the best tax prep software on the market, you may find yourself confused and struggling to get the right one. There are many good tax prep software options for small business owners and tax professionals, such as ProSeries, UltraTax CS, and TaxAct. Still, the choice depends on the specific taxation needs of your business or work.

Remember, there are IRS-approved tax software as well as independent third-party tax software companies. Moreover, these tax software can also be hosted on the cloud through a third-party hosting provider like Sagenext. They offer UltraTax CS hosting, ProSeries tax software hosting, and more.

You can get the best tax prep software for professionals that offers seamless tax filing, advance tax, assessment tax mandates, and errorless taxation tasks. With the help of these tax prep software for small businesses or professionals, you can generate reports, import/export files, get callans verified, and do so much more. 

In this blog post, we will learn about the best tax prep software, its benefits, and a lot more. Let us get into the topic and learn more.

What Are The Best Tax Prep Software in 2025?

There are both free and paid tax prep software in the market, and we will check out both versions. 

1. TaxAct

TaxAct is a free tax prep software that offers 100% accuracy and the highest refund while filing returns. It also provides live support to its users for the free version. The only drawback of TaxAct is that it does not offer a tax refund on the advance loan amount. 

Benefits of TaxAct:

  • It provides guaranteed legal cover for its users, ranging up to $100000. 
  • You can also file both federal and state tax returns in the free version.
  • Provides for 24/7 live support. 
  • One of the most affordable tax prep software programs in the market.

2. TurboTax by Intuit

TurboTax offers both free and paid versions. The free version provides simple 1040 filing. Intuit says that around 37% of filers qualify for free tax filing. It also claims to offer a 100% accurate filing experience for its users. It provides live customer support, but one drawback is that the paid version is more expensive than other top tax prep software on the market. 

Benefits of TurboTax:

  • Provides a frugal step-by-step guide to filing taxes
  • Provides for a refund of tax on an advance loan
  • Live assistance to file taxes is included with the paid version
  • Users can verify and get a final review from TurbTax experts

3. TaxSlayer

TaxSlayer offers both paid and free versions. It claims to provide 100% accurate tax filing with round-the-clock customer support for its users. One of the major drawbacks of TaxSlayer is that the free edition has an income limit of $100000 and does not allow for claiming a dependent. 

Benefits of TaxSlayer:

  • This service allows filing both federal and state taxes. 
  • TaxSlayer has a cheaper paid version compared to others.
  • It offers IRS inquiry and support for taxation mandates
  • Offers to get the maximum refund with accuracy

4. UltraTax CS Software

UltraTax is a comprehensive full taxation software. It helps you file federal/state/local taxes on the go. You also get the option to file 1040 individual tax, 1065 partnership taxes, 1120 corporate taxes, 1041 trust taxes, and so much more. 

Benefits of UltraTax:

  • TOffers 100% accurate and verified tax filing
  • Offers all tax returns filing for federal, state, and local bodies. 
  • Adheres to IRS mandates

IRS-Approved 8 Tax Prep Software You Should Know

Did you know? IRS has approved about eight tax preparation and filing companies as its trusted partner for taxation-related work. Here are those:

FileYourTaxes.Com

→ free federal tax return filing

→ free state tax return filing for most states, if you qualify for federal returns

FreeTaxUSA

→ free federal tax return filing

→ free state tax return filing for all states, if you qualify for federal returns

OLT Online Taxes

→ free federal tax return filing

→ free state tax return filing for all states, if you qualify for federal returns

TaxSlayer

→ free federal tax return filing

→ free state tax return filing for most states, if you qualify for federal returns

TaxAct

→ free federal tax return filing

→ free state tax return filing for most states, if you qualify for federal returns

1040.Com

→ free federal tax return filing

→ free state tax return filing for most states, if you qualify for federal returns

1040NOW

→ free federal tax return filing

→ no free state tax return filing

ezTaxReturn.Com

→ free federal tax return filing

→ free state tax return filing for most states, if you qualify for federal returns

What Are The Benefits of Tax Prep Software for Small Businesses & Tax Professionals?

  • With tax prep software, small businesses and tax professionals can streamline their workflow with a single platform. 
  • These tax preparation and filing software are mostly IRS-mandated, allowing you to file both state/federal taxes. 
  • The best part is you can cloud-host your tax software and use it on the go from anywhere, anytime. You just need to consult a third-party tax software hosting partner to get started. 
  • One single platform allows you to prepare, file, and manage your taxes. They allow you to get accurate reports, refund mandates, and so much more. 
  • Many of the best tax prep software companies offer live support while filing tax returns

Concluding Lines

If you are on a hunt for the best tax prep software in the market, your hunt stops here. We have highlighted all the significant tax preparation and filing software to help you decide on the best one. Remember, there are IRS-approved tax software like TaxAct, & TaxSlayer, and independent third-party tax software like UltraTax, ProSeries, & Drake tax. It is up to you to decide which suits you the best. Moreover, you can also cloud-host and access this software from anywhere and at any time.

Looking to start your tax software hosting business? Sagenext could be your trusted hosting partner for tax software.

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