CompleteTax is not the most popular of the online tax preparation services, but it still ranks among the best services to file your taxes electronically. CompleteTax will guide you through the tax filing process by means of a simple questionnaire. This makes it especially attractive to first time tax filers or those who are scared of all the forms needed to file your taxes. CompleteTax includes plenty tax help and information in their "Tax Guide 2007—Get the IRS Tax Help You Need." Although CompleteTax is a good product, it still lags behind industry leaders like Intuit's TurboTax or H&R Block's TaxCut. Part of it is due to the user interface, and part is due to an incomplete feature set. CompleteTax also tends to use professional tax jargon supplied by the IRS rather than translate it into the language of the masses for us common folk.

Just Sign-up and Start Preparing Your Tax Return

CompleteTax makes it easy to set up an account. You simply choose a username and a password. There is no software to install on your computer -- everything is hosted online. You can literally sign up and start your tax return in a matter of minutes.

CompleteTax is Easy to Use, Even for a First TIme Tax Filer

With CompleteTax, preparing your tax return is as easy as filling in the blanks and moving to the next page. Your position is automatically saved, so if you need to stop, you can return at any time, enter your username and password and resume filing your taxes.

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CompleteTax Has Many Features, But Isn't Quite "Complete"

CompleteTax has all of the standard features that will help you file your taxes. Features like automatic checking for mistakes and oversights is something that all tax software has and doesn't really set CompleteTax apart from the crowd. But a few of the noteworthy features CompleteTax offers are easy automatic data import and importing of data from payroll processors and employers. There is also a feature where you can check a box if you have fully completed that page. What makes that useful is you can leave the box unchecked if you don't have all the information you need at that point. That way you don't get bogged down by the process and can easily go back and enter information later. This allows you to work at your own pace -- or in your own order if you aren't satisfied with the order they present the pages.

The CompleteTax site also has a large database of information on tax laws and some handy tax tools like a user–friendly tax guide and a tax calculator. They also offer a lot of online material to answer your questions. In addition you can contact customer support by email or online chat for free.

Where CompleteTax falls short of the industry leaders is that the user interface is not quite as smooth as some of the other services. It also lacks some of the more advanced features that you might need if your tax return is more complicated than a typical return. Finally, be sure to check whether your state version is available on the CompleteTax site before you sign up. The last time we checked their service was unable to file state taxes for 6-8 states.

The Final Word

Overall, CompleteTax is an decent online tax filing service. The site is very user–friendly, the additional tax information is top notch, and it has some features that make it a great choice for first-time tax filers and those with easy returns. If you need a more robust and feature packed tax preparation service, you will want to check out either TurboTax or TaxCut.

Back to the Tax Preparation Software Review

Also see
TurboTax Review
H&R Block Taxcut Review
TaxBrain Review