E-file.com Review 2026

E-file.com is a tax filing software that offers intuitive guidance and a clutter-free interface designed to help users file their taxes quickly. However, it is not easy to report your investment-related activity. Although they offer free and limited federal files, E-file.com is overpriced on every level, especially compared to high-quality free options and more robust paid alternatives.

For these reasons, we recommend avoiding E-file.com in 2026. If you’re considering using E-file.com to file your 2025 income taxes (filed in 2026), read the following review first. Or check out how it compares to other leading online tax preparation companies here: Best Tax Software 2026.

E-file.com – Is it free?

E-File.com offers a restricted federal filing option for free, but all users must pay for state filing. The “Free” option only includes W-2 income and the rebate recovery credit. If you live in a state that doesn’t require a tax return and have very minimal taxes, you can file it for free. But this is very rare.

All other credits and deductions (including the child tax credit and HSA contributions) require an upgrade to a paid product. Since the vast majority of people will not qualify for free registration with E-file.com, it is best to consider it a paid product.

Note: E-file.com has made updates to The One Big Beautiful Bill Act and other tax law changes.

E-file.com has made the required updates to address the new limits on tax credits and deductions for tax year 2025 (filing in 2026). Otherwise, it is mostly unchanged from previous years. Due to IRS adjustments, expect new standard deduction limits, brackets, and other changes throughout your tax return.

Navigation menus and form styles have improved over the years, making E-file.com an easy-to-navigate tax application. Users with simple tax returns will likely be able to file their taxes quickly, although investors and others with more complex needs will have to deal with the tedious data entry process.

Warning: Investment results must be entered manually, which is a monotonous and error-prone process

E-file.com offers an excellent user experience for filers with simple tax returns. Claiming debits and credits is relatively simple. Many users can quickly find relevant sections and enter information. Clutter-free displays make filing intuitive.

However, those with investments or self-employment income will likely find e-file.com less user-friendly. Our team of testers wondered if they were entering information into the correct boxes. The “treatments” for real estate and corporate depreciation were very confusing because they never showed the amount of depreciation claimed.

Stock or cryptocurrency traders will also be required to manually enter their trades via long screens rather than downloading spreadsheets or importing 1099 forms.

These are some of the features that set e-file.com apart from mid-priced alternatives.

Users can choose guided or self-directed navigation on E-file.com. Bloggers who feel comfortable in one section (such as Income) can choose to self-guided navigation in that section. They can then resume a guided choice (including questions and answers) for the deductions or credits sections.

Bloggers who have earned income in multiple states can apply in multiple states. E-file.com charges users on a per-state basis, so this isn’t a particularly great deal.

E-file.com’s notable drawbacks make it a less than ideal product for most bloggers. These are some of the drawbacks that potential users should understand.

E-file.com’s free tier is incredibly restrictive. Files with children, investments, HSA contributions, unemployment income, student loan interest deductions, and any other major tax situations should be upgraded. But what’s worse is that the free tier isn’t actually free. Filers must pay $32.99 to file their state return.

Many tax software displays sectional summaries to help filers see their numbers. These files help find out if they have missed an important source of income or deduction. E-file.com does not have these summaries, which makes filing more difficult, especially for filers with investments.

E-file.com has a few calculators it calls “wizards.” These wizards, which can be used to calculate depletion, mileage deductions, or depreciation, were somewhat confusing. They did not explain where the data submitter could find certain information, and a few of them contained unclear tax terms.

Users who want technical support must upgrade to E-file.com’s Deluxe tier. This is technical support only and does not include assistance with filing taxes.

E-file.com pushes a surprising number of people to their “Premium” plan. The free version is very restrictive, as discussed previously.

The luxury tier supports only W-2 income, unemployment income, and some deductions (including mortgage interest). It also supports the child tax credit but is limited to families with incomes of less than $100,000. Those with higher incomes, other sources of income, or other deductions or credits to claim must upgrade to premium.

As of this writing, coupon code FED15OFF gives you 15% off the federal registration price on the Deluxe and Premium Plus plans.

E-file.com has average prices on the market, so we compared it to lower-cost competitors. Cash App Taxes offers the best overall user experience, but users may prefer FreeTaxUSA because it supports multi-state filing. We don’t expect filers will find a particular reason to use E-file.com over one of these less expensive alternatives.

E-file.com uses data encryption and multi-factor authentication to protect user information. This ensures that the site meets IRS standards. E-file.com has never reported any major data breaches, so it seems likely that the company maintains high standards for data security. However, no company can guarantee 100% data security. Users should carefully evaluate any tax software provider before deciding to use it.

This is the area where E-file.com falls short. As mentioned earlier, unless you upgrade to at least the “Deluxe” version, you won’t be able to access even basic phone and online support. No matter your plan, you won’t have the option of reaching out to tax professionals for advice.

Despite the lack of support, most customers are on TrustPilot Reporting positive experiences, the company maintains an A+ rating with Better Business Bureau (BBB). This is likely because e-file.com attracts bloggers who feel comfortable handling their tax returns themselves. But if you’re looking for some help along the way, e-file.com isn’t the tax software for you.

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 tools since 2011 and has tried almost every tax filing product. If you’d rather watch than read, our team has created reviews and Detailed videos of major tax preparation companies On our YouTube channel.

We do taxes and want a good deal, just like you. We work hard to provide informed, honest opinions about every product we test.

How was this product tested?

In our original testing, we used e-File.com to complete a real-world tax return that included W-2 income, self-employment income, rental property income, and investment income. We have tried to enter all data and use all available features. We then compared the result to all the other products we tested, as well as a tax return prepared by a tax professional.

This year we’ve reviewed and re-examined all the features we originally tested, as well as any new features. We’ve also validated the pricing options.

Who is this for and is it worth it?

Although E-file.com has a good user interface, the product only works well for bloggers with relatively straightforward payouts. Those with direct returns can find less expensive alternatives that work equally well.

But if you have a fairly complex return, you may want to choose a more robust alternative. For 2026, we recommend that most bloggers skip e-file.com. Instead, choose the tax software that best suits your situation.

Here are the answers to some of the most common questions filers have about E-file.com:

Can E-file.com help me with my cryptocurrency investments?

E-file.com supports cryptocurrency trades, but requires filling out a detailed form for each trade throughout the year. Most traders will not want to spend the time required to do this. This year, the best alternative is TurboTax Premier.

Can E-file.com help me file government applications in multiple states?

Yes, E-file.com supports multi-instance recording. Users must pay $32.99 per state.

Does E-file.com offer cash back advance loans?

No, E-file.com does not offer advance cash back loans in 2026.