TaxBrain 1040 Deluxe Reviewer's Comments

TaxBrain is a good online filing service for 1040EZ or simple 1040 filers who are looking for a quick refund. It is a bit on the pricey side, since TaxBrain charges $19.95 to $99.95 to file a federal return and $19.95 to $29.95 for a state return. As a bonus, the electronic filing fee is included in the purchase price and they provide quick loans at an additional cost.

Intuitive Navigation:  

The navigation is intuitive but it's not convenient. To go back to make changes to a previous screen, you need to finish the screen that you're on and then go to the section that you want to correct.

Novice-Friendly:  

This solution is just like filling in the paper forms yourself without the paper. Therefore, it's not a good solution for a novice user. To begin the process, you answer a few questions online and they determine what form(s) you need and you just type the figures online.

Ease of Sign-up:  

Because this product is online there is no download or installation necessary. You do have to setup an account, though, which takes a few minutes. You also have to worry about keeping the account name and password in a safe place and somewhere you can remember it.

Feature Set:  

TaxBrain offers few tax preparation features, however does offer many additional features such as quick loans for refunds and several archiving options. They will send you a bound copy of your taxes for $19.95 or save your taxes in their database for up to five years for $9.95 and they offer audit assistance for $34.95.

This service can help you electronically file federal and state tax returns and they offer quite a few of the extra forms you may need such as income reporting, small business income/loss, deductions, credits and a few special forms.

This product also has the ability to import from Quicken and Microsoft Money.

Help/Documentation/Search:  

In terms of customer support the offer chat, email and telephone contact. They also post a knowledgebase section and FAQ pages, however they are not necessarily easy to find. For example, if you click on "questions" from their home page it takes you to a "We've got Answers" page, but the only thing you can access there is the chat option.

Summary:  

TaxBrain can get your tax job done, and in usually less than 40 minutes. If you are expecting a refund and cannot wait to get your money, they can help you get a quick loan.