Liberty Tax was founded in 1997 and has both physical branches and online tax preparation offerings. If having in-person access to a tax expert is important to you then Liberty Tax is likely your most affordable option.

Pros and Cons of Liberty Tax

  • In person assistance available

  • Free in person consultations

  • Full audit support available if taxes are done in person


  • No free plan

Liberty Tax Prices and Plans

Liberty Tax has three plans available depending on the complexity of your taxes. If you do your taxes in person at your local Liberty Tax office, someone from the office will attend your audit with you for support. Access to a local tax expert is also included if you have questions about your taxes.

Basic Plan

$55.95 for federal and $36.95 for each state return

The Basic plan is for those who do not have dependents and have taxable income less than $100,000.

  • Single or married
  • No dependents
  • Taxable income less than $100,000
  • Taking the standard deduction
  • W-2 or unemployment income, tips, scholarships, or fellowship grants
  • Interest less than $1,500
  • Earned Income Credit

Not being able to claim dependents is a unique exclusion. If you have kids, you’ll need to upgrade to a higher-level plan.

Forms supported:

  • Form 1040
  • Form 8853

Schedules supported:

  • Schedule A
  • Schedule B

Deluxe plan

$75.95 for federal and $36.95 for each state return

If you have dependents and an income lower than $100,000 this might be the plan for you. This plan also covers investment gains or losses and retirement income. It also covers retirement savings and itemized deductions.

  • Taxable income less than $100,000
  • Dependents
  • Investment gains or losses
  • Retirement savings or income
  • Itemized deductions
  • Child care and education tax breaks

Forms supported:

  • Form 1040
  • Form 4562
  • Form 8829
  • Form 4136
  • Form 8839
  • Form 8853

Schedules supported:

  • Schedule A
  • Schedule B
  • Schedule C

All plans include access to a tax professional, including in person access if desired.

Premium plan

$95.95 for federal and $36.95 for each state return

The Premium plan will cover all tax situations. and is best for small business owners who have a diversified set of income sources, or anyone who has over $100,000 in taxable income. This plan includes everything from the Deluxe plan and adds in self-employment and rental property income.

  • Taxable income over $100,000
  • Self-employment income and deductions
  • Rental property income and deductions
  • All other income sources and deductions

This plan will work for all tax situations regardless of where you earned your income or what deductions or credits you qualify for.

Forms supported:

  • Form 1040
  • Form 4562
  • Form 8829
  • Form 4136
  • Form 4684
  • Form 4835
  • Form 8839
  • Form 8853

Schedules supported:

  • Schedule A
  • Schedule B
  • Schedule C
  • Schedule E
  • Schedule F
  • Schedule K-1

You can view a full breakdown of all four plans on the Liberty Tax website.

Tax Questions Support

All Liberty Tax plans offer access to a local tax expert at your local office. Since they have local offices you can even go in and speak to someone in person if you have questions. Consolations are free but only done in person at your local office. So, if you are filing online and have a question about your taxes, you’ll need to book an appointment with a tax expert to ask questions.

While that might be a pain it’s also really nice to be able to sit down and know your questions are being fully answered.

Audit Support

If you have your taxes prepared at your local office, you will receive audit support from someone at the office where you filed. You can also call and get your questions answered if you get a letter from the IRS and need an explanation of what it means or how to handle it.

Refund Advance

Liberty Tax does offer refund advances. You can get refund advance between the amounts of $500 and $6,250. Keep in mind, refund advances are really loans that are backed by your pending refund. The interest rate on these loans is 35.99%, which is extremely high.

If you have access to any other funds, even a credit card, you’d probably be better off using that and avoiding a refund advance.

Liberty Tax FAQ

Is Liberty Tax Safe?

Like all other tax preparation sites these days, Liberty Tax is a secured site with bank level security. If you feel comfortable banking online, you can feel comfortable using the Liberty Tax website.

Also, Liberty Tax won’t sell your information unless required by law to do so. According to their privacy statement:

“We do not sell your personal information to third parties….Affiliated and non-affiliated third parties may be given access to your information only as permitted by law or upon your express authorization to process the transactions in which you have engaged us to perform.”

This is all pretty common legal jargon, but the bottom line is that you can feel safe and secure with using Liberty Tax. Plus, you have the option of going into one of their 3,000 locations to work with a physical person instead if doing your taxes online makes you uneasy.

Does Liberty Tax have a Mobile App?

Yes, Liberty Tax does have a mobile app for you to do your taxes on the go. It allows you to file your taxes, scan documents, and search for Liberty Tax offices near you.

Liberty Tax Alternatives

H&R Block

H&R Block is the most obvious competitor as it also has local offices you can visit if you want in person assistance. H&R Block plans are as follows.

  • Free: $0 for federal and $0 for state. Only very simple tax situations qualify for this plan
  • Deluxe: $55 for federal and $37 for each state. Allows for itemized deductions and 1099 income, but no business deductions.
  • Premium: $75 for federal and $37 for each state return. Allows for rental property income and expenses, simple business income (no business deductions) and investment income
  • Self Employed: $110 for federal and $37 for each state. Allows for both business income and deductions.

Live tax assistance is an additional $85, so consider that when comparing prices. The prices above do not include access to a tax pro. You can also add on full audit support for a fee but informational support (the ability to call and ask questions) is included with all plans.

Here’s our full H&R Block review.

TurboTax

TurboTax is another name-brand tax software, but it doesn’t offer any in person assistance. It does however offer video chat with a tax expert. TurboTax has a fairly complicated pricing structure with four plans, each with three service levels. For comparison’s sake I’ll list the prices that include access to a tax professional.

  • Basic: $99 total for both federal and state. Includes only very simple tax returns
  • Deluxe: $139 for federal and $64 for each state. Allows for itemized deductions and business income, but no business deductions
  • Premier: $189 for federal and $64 for each state. Allows for rental income and expenses.
  • Self-Employed: $219 for federal and $64 for each state. Allows for business income and expenses.

Keep in mind these prices include access to a tax expert for tax related questions, if you don’t end up needing to talk to a tax expert the prices will be lower.

For audit support, all plans come with informational support, where you can call and ask general questions. You can add on full-service audit support, where an audit representative will speak to the IRS on your behalf for a fee.

Here’s our full TurboTax review.

Bottom Line

Liberty Tax offers both online and in person tax prep services. If you want in person support it’s a good choice as it’s less expensive than it’s main competitor, H&R Block. However, if you aren’t interested in meeting with a tax expert then you may want to check out other services and save some money.

Author

  • Chris Muller

    Chris has an MBA with a focus in advanced investments and has been writing about all things personal finance since 2015. He's also built and run a digital marketing agency, focusing on content marketing, copywriting, and SEO, since 2016. You can connect with Chris on Twitter @moneymozartblog.