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Which TurboTax Version Should I Use in 2023?

by Jim Wang

Updated

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Time to do your taxes right?

If you’re looking for a cheap option for tax preparation, you’ve probably considered Intuit’s TurboTax software. For years, I used TurboTax when I was working a corporate job at Northrop Grumman. It was easy to use, affordable, fast, and more importantly, accurate.

TurboTax Free Edition is their free version. It’s $0 to prepare your Federal return. It’s $0 to prepare your state return. And it’s $0 to file both returns.

File for free with TurboTax Free Edition. For simple tax returns only. Not all taxpayers qualify. 

There is, however, a minor catch. It’s only meant for the simplest of tax situations.

If you only have:

  • W-2 income
  • Unemployment income
  • Limited interest and dividend income reported on a 1099-INT or 1099-DIV
  • Claim the standard deduction
  • Earned Income Tax Credit (EIC)
  • Child tax credits

You’re golden.

If you need any of these schedules… you will have to pay for the other packages:

  • Schedule A for itemized deductions
  • Schedule C for business or 1099-MISC income
  • Schedule D for stock sales
  • Schedule E for rental property income
  • or have credits, deductions and income reported on Schedules 1-6
TurboTax Free Edition
Free is nice! (if you qualify)

The free version is very powerful (it includes taking a photo of your W-2 to get the information in) but it’s very basic.

If you have a more complicated return, then you will need one of the paid versions.

So before you start your tax return on TurboTax and discover which version of TurboTax you need (by then, let’s be honest, you’ll just pay for it because of the time you’ve just put in), why not use our handy guide to figure out which TurboTax version you’ll settle on?

In all the questions and answers below, you can always use a more expensive version of TurboTax. We list the cheapest version you’ll need. For example, if you sold stock, you’ll need TurboTax Premium or better.

So, which TurboTax do you need?

Table of Contents
  1. What can all versions do?
  2. Do you only have Form-1099s?
  3. Do you own a home? Make donations?
  4. Do you run a business?
  5. Do you own rental property?
  6. Did you sell stock, bonds, or mutual funds? (or other investments)
  7. How much does each version cost?
  8. Can I Share TurboTax with a Friend?
  9. What are some TurboTax alternatives?

🔃UPDATED June 2023: Updated pricing but also TurboTax Premier and TurboTax Self-Employed have been “merged” together into TurboTax Premium.

Note: Did you know that if you rented your home out for 14 or fewer days, you can exclude that rental income from your tax return because of the Augusta Rule. If you would otherwise have a very simple tax situation, except for rental income of 14 or fewer days, you could still use the free editions.

What can all versions do?

All of the paid versions include:

  • The ability to prepare, print, and e-file your return,
  • The ability to import last year’s tax data,
  • The ability to import from Quicken or Quickbooks.

Deluxe, Premium and Home & Business also include features that can help maximize your deductions. This includes ItsDeductible to help calculate the value of your deductions and the Audit RiskMeter to help reduce your chances of being audited.

Each one includes tech support but only Premumr and Home & Business include phone support and guidance from Certified Public Accountants.

Do you only have Form-1099s?

If you only have a W-2 from work and various Form 1099s, you may only need the TurboTax Free Edition.

The Form 1099’s the Basic version supports are:

  • 1099-MISC – Miscellaneous Income
  • 1099-INT – Interest Income
  • 1099-DIV – Dividend Income
  • 1099-G – Certain Government Payments

These questions can help you figure out which version you need:

Do you own a home? Make donations?

If you want to itemize your deductions on a Schedule A, you’ll need to get the Deluxe edition. Keep in mind, the standard deduction for 2022 was $12,980 for single filers and $25,900 for married filing jointly, so it’s possible you’ve itemized deductions in the past but won’t need to this year.

(for the 2023 tax year, the standard deduction goes to $13,850 for single filers and $27,700 for married filing jointly)

Do you run a business?

If you run a business, you need to declare your income on a Schedule C and so you must use TurboTax Premium. This was previously called TurboTax Self-Employed or TurboTax Home & Business, but now it’s all included in TurboTax Premium and it’s the only version that includes a Schedule C.

A business can be anything from a formal corporation with Articles of Incorporation to something less formal, like being a rideshare driver or selling clearance items on eBay. If you earned income from a side hustle, you will need to claim it on a Schedule C.

If you need them, TurboTax will help you create W-2s for your employees and 1099s for any contractors you paid throughout the year. It will also help you with self-employment tax as well as any business-specific deductions.

Do you own rental property?

If you own rental property and collected rent, you’ll need to use TurboTax Premium because it includes Schedule E.

Did you sell stock, bonds, or mutual funds? (or other investments)

If you sold any investments (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, options, etc.) then you’ll have to file a Schedule D – which also means you’ll need TurboTax Premium.

If you received a Schedule K-1 (Form 1065), which you would get if you are in a partnership, that’s another reason you’ll need TurboTax Premium.

How much does each version cost?

When we looked up prices on Amazon, here were the prices for the digital download (these are the retail prices, listed price may be lower because of discounts and promotions):

I included the packages that also offer state filing too. If you don’t need that, you can often get it slightly cheaper without it.

Sometimes, it’s possible to do the Federal return with software and to file your state return on paper. This can save you money and state returns are often less complex.

Can I Share TurboTax with a Friend?

Yes, you can share it with a friend, with some conditions.

When you purchase the TurboTax software (disc or download), it says that it “comes with 5 free federal e-files.” This is actually an IRS rule, not a TurboTax one. The IRS only allows you to prepare and electronically file up to five federal and (related) state tax returns.

You can, however, prepare an unlimited number of returns and print them out to mail in.

When you buy TurboTax, you’re allowed to install it on any computer you own. When you do, you can prepare the returns of you and your immediate family. I’ve seen families do this a lot where a parent does their returns as well as their children, often when they’re in college.

In that way, you can share TurboTax with someone else when you buy the software but you are limited to five e-files. E-filing is the fastest way to get a tax refund.

If you’re using the online version, you can only do one return.

What are some TurboTax alternatives?

Cash App Tax is the free tax service of Cash App (this used to be Credit Karma Taxes before they sold it to Cash App). They offer free federal tax preparation and e-file, with many of the forms supported by Premium and Home & Business. They don’t have a deluxe/premium paid version, it’s 100% free with no upsells. If you happen to need a form that isn’t covered by Cash App Tax, then you won’t be able to file with them.

FreeTaxUSA is a popular alternative that offers a free federal return with e-file. They make money on the state return, which costs $14.99, and on the deluxe version, if you need extra customer support, which only costs $7.99. The deluxe version is only about support. Their free version includes much of what is included in TurboTax Premium (investments, rental income) and Home & Business (1099 income and expenses). You can see our full review of FreeTaxUSA for more.

I hope this guide helped you understand the differences between the different versions of TurboTax!

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About Jim Wang

Jim Wang is a forty-something father of four who is a frequent contributor to Forbes and Vanguard's Blog. He has also been fortunate to have appeared in the New York Times, Baltimore Sun, Entrepreneur, and Marketplace Money.

Jim has a B.S. in Computer Science and Economics from Carnegie Mellon University, an M.S. in Information Technology - Software Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, as well as a Masters in Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University. His approach to personal finance is that of an engineer, breaking down complex subjects into bite-sized easily understood concepts that you can use in your daily life.

One of his favorite tools (here's my treasure chest of tools,, everything I use) is Personal Capital, which enables him to manage his finances in just 15-minutes each month. They also offer financial planning, such as a Retirement Planning Tool that can tell you if you're on track to retire when you want. It's free.

He is also diversifying his investment portfolio by adding a little bit of real estate. But not rental homes, because he doesn't want a second job, it's diversified small investments in a few commercial properties and farms in Illinois, Louisiana, and California through AcreTrader.

Recently, he's invested in a few pieces of art on Masterworks too.

>> Read more articles by Jim

Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank or financial institution. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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  1. Kathlyn Jenson says

    In the past 8 years, I have used both Turbo Tax free file on the IRS website and Credit Karma free file. This year, I started with Credit Karma and discontinued, going with Turbo Tax free file.
    Here’s why:
    > Was found not eligible for the CA Renters Credit of $60. I’ve been eligible for every year since 2003 when I moved back to CA. No explanation as to why I wasn’t eligible. I had answered the questions in the CA Tax Form 540 instructions already (more questions than Credit Karma’s 3, including landlord’s name and contact information) and was deemed eligible by the official CA tax form instructions. I redid Credit Karma’s questions but the result was the same: not neligible. NOTE: Not needing this credit is not the same as not being eligible.
    > My CA state standard deduction was exactly the same as my federal. Not possible. And no questions or calculations were used. No information provided.
    At this point, I switched over to Turbo Tax free file and was greatly relieved to have more pertinent questions asked, more information volunteered, eligible for the CA Renters Credit and my CA standard deduction was calculated as indicated in the official paper CA Tax Form 540 instructions and worksheet.
    I went back into my Credit Karma account, did the review several times but nothing changed. So I officially filed with Turbo Tax. My federal and state forms were efliled and accepted in less than 2 hours.
    If there were other errors, I didn’t catch them. The federal results were the same: no refund, no taxes owed. But I know how Turbo Tax arrived at that result whereas I don’t with Credit Karma.
    As I didn’t know how the changes would impact my no refund, no taxes status held for the past 8 years, I was glad to have more information and understanding for 2018 and beyond in order to plan accordingly.

  2. John Craig says

    It depends on how much money you make as to whether Turbo Tax will charge you. You left out that question between being free and being charged!!

  3. R Stamps says

    Jim is wrong unless he’s only talking about online versions. The CD/download versions contain all the tax forms you need. TT Deluxe CD/download does have Schedule D and anything else you need for handling your investments. If you stick with the CD/download version you get more features and can switch to another tax software that can still import your previous year TT data.

  4. Ron Frank says

    The CD Basic has done my Schedule A deductions for years! I believe Jim is wrong. Intuit IMPLIES lots of things to get you to spend more, like “Deduction Maximizer” which is not the same as being able to do itemized deductions. Just a little more hand holding.

  5. Jenn Varner says

    I purchased 2019 TurboTax Deluxe. It does contain Schedule C which I have used in the past (small sidehustle). I am just wondering if it handles the new QBI calculation correctly, since it’s asking me for manual entries upon federal review.

  6. Harry O'Donnell says

    I have used TurboTax Deluxe for many consecutive years now, and while the instructions online and here always say if you have stock sales, you need the Premier Edition, I have had stock sales virtually every year and the Deluxe version has been quite adequate! I can import my Ameritrade Consolidated Form 1099 easily and have never needed a higher version than the Deluxe one. Perhaps one would need the Premier version if one sold stock options … I cannot comment on that, but with just common stock sales, I’ve always been fine with Deluxe!

    So why the “You will need the Premier version” in all the instructions on how to choose which version?

    • John A. Johnson says

      Harry, I also wonder about the need for higher-level versions, because many posts I’ve read say that all of the desktop versions contain all of the tax forms. I began using TurboTax back in the 1990s, when it was only available on CD, and it worked fine. Eventually they added different versions and then the totally online option. Totally online seemed logical because you start for free and then are told which version you need to pay for, given the forms you used. But that is crazy if a downloaded basic desktop version contains all of the forms. A second reason I will be going back to the desktop version next year is that, after filing super-early, one my my contractors told me they sent incorrect amounts on the 1099-MISC and sent me a new one with the corrected amounts. But totally online TurboTax won’t even let me see how the corrected amounts change the result until they have their electronic version of the amended return form, which is not until tomorrow. Because I do my state and local taxes based on my federal return, this is holding everything up. I see absolutely no advantage in the totally online version, which really does make you pay higher prices for reporting consulting work and capital gains from my mutual funds. Lesson learned.

  7. Tony Saprano says

    I’ve always used turbotax for at least 15 years.
    Jim, With the other suggested tax programs. Do they allow import data from turbotax?
    And that’s why I use turbotax every year to be able to import all the data.

  9. Dave says

    Jim you forgot to mention intuits “ITS DEDUCTIBLE “ program!! This is probably the main reason I still use TurboTax! You need to add the benefits of this program with TT! We track all our cash and material items, as well as all charitable donations in this program throughout the year. . It flows flawlessly into TT at tax time filling out all the correct forms. It gives you immediate feedback on how your contributions will reduce your taxes. I love it!

  10. Mel says

    You have a great website. Thank you for the information you give us. I have used Turbo Tax Deluxe for years, but for the 2021 tax year, I inherited an out of state (I live in CA, my brother lived in AZ) pension plan monthly benefit that will last for 6 years. I assumed the pension plan he had been getting. They will issue a 1099 to me, and I have been paying Federal Income Tax on it. I was the beneficiary, and it was not through a trust. Do I need Turbo Tax Deluxe or Turbo Tax Premier for this change to my normal financial situation? I wanted to click your link for Turbo Tax, but I thought I would check first. Thank you.

    • Jim Wang says

      If you look at their list of tax forms, it’ll tell you which is covered by which version. If you have a fairly simple tax situation otherwise than you may be able to use the Free Edition. Free Edition (every edition actually) covers a Form 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement, etc.

      I don’t know what other things you need but the pension won’t push you into a more expensive package.

  12. Phil Carr says

    I’m currently retired with multiple pensions with 1099Rs and a W2 for part-time work. My wife is a self employed dog trainer, We used forms 1040, 1040VSchedule 1,3,4, A, B, C, and D along with forms 8879, 8849 and 8895 for our federal taxes and California forms 540 Schedule CA Schedule D and form 8879 for our state taxes. We used our accountant last year, but he suddenly retired. Will the Self Employed version cover all of these forms?

    • Jim Wang says

      I wish I could help but I’m not a tax professional and your situation sounds pretty complex, I’d ask TurboTax directly.

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