- Keeper helps freelancers and independent contractors with tax-related write-offs.
- It automatically scans your bank and credit card statements for tax-deductible expenses.
- An annual subscription costs $99 – $399.
Keeper is an app that helps independent contractors, freelancers, and employees file their tax returns while tracking work-related expenses.
The app is available for both iOS and Android devices, or you can use the web-based desktop version. Keeper can be a good fit if you want to stay organized at tax time. It’s important to consider pricing and features before subscribing.
Here’s a closer look at Keeper Tax and what you need to know if you’re looking for an app to track expenses and file taxes. Or see how Keeper compares in our annual roundup of the best tax software here.
What is a keeper?
Keeper, formerly known as Keeper Tax, started out as an expense tracking and tax filing app for independent contractors and small business owners. It has expanded to handle individual and joint family taxes as well through a new “Deposit Only” plan.
Keeper can examine your bank and credit card statements to determine which expenses should be tracked and written off, helping to lower your tax bill. It also handles your tax filing and provides tax professionals to answer filing-related questions.
The company, founded by Paul Kulik and David Kang in 2018, has rebranded from Keeper Tax to Keeper. The app is highly rated on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.
How does Keeper work?
Warning: Annual subscription required!
Keeper is the first mobile app that works online and on your phone. Users link their bank and credit card accounts to the app to automatically scan purchases for potential write-offs.
After registering with Keeper, you will be asked a series of questions before you can move to the next screen. For example, it asks whether you are a freelancer, an employee, or a business owner. It also asks if you use your car for work.
How much does a goalkeeper cost?
There is a seven-day free trial with Keeper. Once that’s out, here are the pricing options:
- Deposit Only: $99 per year
- Deposit + Debits: $199 per year
- Premium: $399 per year
The previous monthly expense tracking plan is no longer available. Now it’s down to the three annual subscriptions, which include the option to file your taxes at no additional cost.
Outstanding guard features
Let’s take a look at some of the key features of Keeper.
Tax help for professionals
When you use a platform to help you file your taxes, you may not have access to a live expert. Or, if you do, you will be asked to upgrade to a higher level. The nice thing about Keeper is that you have access to a tax expert who can answer your questions. It may not be over the phone, but at least you can have someone help you with your specific problem.
Keeper prides itself on being one of the best producers of educational content for those with 1099 taxes, so they may also be able to serve you up with a video, article, or provide you with a calculator.
Audit protection
In addition to an expert to answer your questions, you may want to know what will happen if you are audited by the IRS. Keeper offers audit protection, which means its team of tax assistants will help gather any necessary documents to send to the IRS if you’re subject to an audit. They will also provide you with access to certified public accountants and tax experts who can answer any questions.
Deletion detection
Great feature: Keeper uses artificial intelligence to help find and categorize transactions for potential credits or discounts.
Keeper offers write-off detection, scanning your credit card and bank accounts and notifying you of expenses you can write off. Keeper analyzes up to 18 months of transactions to automatically identify tax breaks that may have been missed. Then, all deductions are itemized and automatically added to your tax return. Keeper also double-checks deductions to ensure they won’t raise red flags with the IRS.
There are a few steps before you can use this feature, including letting Keeper know what kind of work you do. Then you have to link your accounts to Keeper so it can check your transactions.
Forecasting your tax bill
No one likes to be surprised by a huge tax bill, which is why Keeper gives you year-round estimates of how much you’ll likely owe or how much you’ll owe.
You must enter your status, condition, W-2, and 1099 income to calculate this number instantly. Their calculations include all federal and state taxes, plus deductions and credits.
This is a useful feature because you know how much you will save or how much you will get back, so you can budget for your taxes in advance.
Tax filing
Since Keeper already checks your tax write-offs and gets you prepared for tax season, filing your taxes with Keeper may make sense. It offers you automatic uploads of tax forms and pre-filling of documents. Overall, it’s a very user-friendly experience for bloggers.
You can file your taxes entirely using your smartphone. On average, it takes users 22 minutes to file their taxes, Keeper says. Once submitted, a tax professional reviews your documents before submitting them to the IRS.
How does Keeper compare?
Although Keeper is an easy-to-use platform that helps you with bookkeeping and filing, it has limited accounting features. You have to pay $199 or more per year to manage your expenses, but you don’t get access to the in-depth reports and features you get with QuickBooks, Xero, or other bookkeeping apps.
For a cheaper option, you can check out Hurdlr, a similar accounting, bookkeeping, and income tax app that’s completely free with the option to upgrade to Premium at $8.34 per month (billed annually) or move up to their monthly option at $10 per month. Hurdlr offers a Pro plan at $16.67 per month (billed annually).
Everlance helps freelancers track their business expenses and income. The app makes filling out Schedule C for your taxes easy. Everlance offers a 10-day free trial of Premium, but many features are available in its free version. Everlance Premium features access to private customer service, PDF reports, and automatic flight tracking. Premium costs $8 per month or $12 per month for Premium Plus.
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If your taxes aren’t that complicated, you can file them completely for free. Check out our favorite options for filing your taxes for free. For more robust filing options, see our reviews of TurboTax and FreeTaxUSA.
Visit the College Investor’s Tax Center to learn more about the best tax software, resources, and tools, as well as what to understand about your tax return.
To contact customer service, you can email us [email protected]. There is no customer service phone number.
How to register
You will be asked for an email address and phone number. Next, you’re given the option of whether you want to link your checking or credit card accounts to find eligible write-offs if you’re self-employed, for example.
After answering the questions and entering your email address, you will be asked to download the app via a QR code on your computer, or you can go directly to the App Store or Google Play to download it.
Free tax resources and customer service
Keeper is eager to educate you on what you should know about your taxes to help you save money and reduce your taxable income. They do it through Free tax resources The page containing articles, calculators, tools and FAQs on their website.
For more specific answers to customer questions, visit Help site.
Why should you trust us?
The College Investor team has spent years reviewing the best tax filing options, and we have personal experience with most tax software tools. I personally have been the main tax software reviewer since 2022, and have compared most of the major companies on the market.
Our editor-in-chief, Robert Farrington, has been testing tax software since 2011 and has tried almost every tax filing product available. If you’re more of an observer than a reader, check out our site YouTube channel For video reviews and step-by-step instructions for all major tax preparation applications.
We do taxes and want a good deal, just like you. We work hard to provide informed, honest opinions about every product we test.
Is Keeper actually a keeper?
Keeper is a great suite for tracking expenses and filing taxes. If you’re self-employed, have 1099 income, and your finances are relatively clear (for example, you file a Schedule C), you may appreciate the app. Keeper is easy to use, and the annual cost can be much lower than what you pay for TurboTax or traditional CPA.
However, if your business, income, and financial situation are more complex, for example, if you own rental properties or regularly buy and sell cryptocurrencies, you might consider a more robust software like TurboTax or H&R Block, combined with the appropriate bookkeeping software suite.
