Should I use TurboTax Free or pay for TurboTax Deluxe? What's better for my situation?

Based on what you've described, you should be able to use TurboTax Free Edition, but there are a few things to consider. TurboTax Free Edition covers W-2 income, limited interest and dividend income, and the standard deduction. It also includes claiming tax credits for dependents (your kids). However, if you want to maximize deductions related to your mortgage interest or your charitable donations, you might need Deluxe. The key thing to understand is that if you're taking the standard deduction (which for married filing jointly in 2023 is $25,900), then itemizing deductions like mortgage interest and charitable donations only benefits you if those deductions combined exceed $25,900. If they don't add up to more than the standard deduction, there's no financial benefit to itemizing. The Free Edition can handle tax credits for children, but Deluxe offers more guidance and options for finding additional deductions and credits you might miss. Deluxe also includes IRS Schedule A for itemized deductions if you end up needing it.

I was in a similar situation last year and discovered taxr.ai after getting frustrated with TurboTax's constant upselling. It's a document analysis tool that helped me understand which version I actually needed after uploading my tax documents. I used https://taxr.ai and it basically confirmed that Free Edition would work for my situation which was almost identical to yours - married, W2s, mortgage, kids. It saved me from buying Deluxe unnecessarily. The tool scanned my docs and showed me that since my itemized deductions weren't exceeding the standard deduction, the Free Edition would handle everything I needed. They have this feature that estimates whether your situation requires paid features before you commit.

Just wanted to follow up - I decided to try taxr.ai after my initial skepticism, and it was actually really helpful! I uploaded my W-2s, mortgage statement, and donation receipts, and it confirmed I was way better off with the standard deduction. It showed me exactly how much I'd need in itemized deductions to make Deluxe worthwhile. Ended up using TurboTax Free and it handled everything I needed with no issues. Saved me the $60 or whatever Deluxe costs now. The analysis also pointed out that my employer withholding was slightly off, which I can fix for next year. Definitely appreciated having that independent verification before making a decision.

If you decide to go with TurboTax and run into issues or have questions, getting support from TurboTax can be a nightmare this time of year. I waited over 3 hours on hold last year! Found a service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me through to TurboTax support in about 15 minutes when I had issues with my mortgage interest reporting. They have a demo of how it works at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they navigate the phone tree and wait on hold for you, then call you when a rep is on the line.

I need to eat my words about Claimyr being a scam. Tax season desperation got to me this weekend when I had issues with my state return in TurboTax and was facing a 2+ hour wait time according to their message. Remembered this thread and figured I'd try Claimyr since I was on a deadline. It worked exactly as advertised - I submitted the TurboTax support number, and about 45 minutes later (while I was making dinner instead of sitting on hold), got a call connecting me directly to a TurboTax rep. Honestly blown away that it worked. The rep actually helped resolve my mortgage interest issue that was preventing me from filing. Would have wasted my entire Sunday on hold otherwise.

In my experience, if you're taking the standard deduction, TurboTax Free Edition will absolutely work for you. I use it every year with a similar situation - W2 income, mortgage, standard deduction, kids. The only time I needed to upgrade was when I had self-employment income from a side gig. One warning though: TurboTax is SUPER sneaky about trying to upsell you throughout the process. They'll make it seem like you need to upgrade to enter your mortgage info, but you don't if you're taking the standard deduction. Just keep looking for the "continue with free" option that's usually in smaller text.

Don't know if anyone mentioned this but check if you're eligible for the IRS Free File program instead of regular TurboTax Free. If your adjusted gross income is under $73,000, you can use the premium version of TurboTax completely free (including state) through the IRS partnership. You have to access it through the IRS website though, not by going directly to TurboTax. Google "IRS Free File TurboTax" to find it. It's literally the full Deluxe version but free if you qualify.

This is really helpful! I'm in almost the exact same boat - married filing jointly, W-2s, mortgage, kids, and some savings interest. I've been automatically buying Deluxe every year without thinking about it. Based on what everyone's saying about the standard deduction being $25,900, I should definitely try the free version first. My mortgage interest is probably around $12,000 and donations maybe $1,500, so that's only $13,500 total - way less than the standard deduction. Quick question though - do I need to enter my mortgage interest and donation info at all if I'm taking the standard deduction, or can I just skip those sections entirely? I want to make sure I'm not missing anything important, but also don't want to get tricked into upgrading if I don't need to. Also going to check out that IRS Free File program that was mentioned - our AGI should be under $73k so that might be an even better option. Thanks everyone for all the detailed info!

One more tip that might help you decide - TurboTax Free Edition will actually let you start your return and go pretty far into the process before hitting any paywalls. So you could begin with the free version, enter your basic info (W-2s, dependents, etc.), and see if it prompts you to upgrade at any point. The advantage of this approach is that you'll know for certain whether the free version meets your needs before committing to pay for Deluxe. In your situation with standard deduction, you should be able to complete everything in the free version, but this way you can verify it yourself. Just be prepared for the aggressive upselling throughout the process - TurboTax will try to convince you that you "might be missing deductions" with scary language, but stick to your guns if you know the standard deduction is better for you. The free version should handle your W-2 income, child tax credits, and standard deduction perfectly fine.

Just want to add another perspective here - I made the mistake of buying Deluxe for years when I absolutely didn't need it. Your situation sounds almost identical to mine (married, W-2s, mortgage, kids, standard deduction), and I finally switched to the free version last year after doing the math. Here's what really opened my eyes: I calculated that I would need over $25,900 in itemized deductions to beat the standard deduction. Between mortgage interest, property taxes, state taxes, and charitable donations, I was only hitting about $18,000. So I was literally paying TurboTax $60+ to use a worse deduction! The free version handled everything I needed - W-2 import, child tax credit, earned income credit if applicable, and the standard deduction. The only "features" I was missing in Deluxe were ones that didn't even apply to my situation. One thing to watch out for: TurboTax will show you a "comparison" screen that makes it look like Deluxe might find you more money, but this is usually misleading if you're taking the standard deduction. They're basically selling you peace of mind for situations that don't apply to you. Start with IRS Free File if you qualify income-wise, otherwise the regular TurboTax Free Edition should work perfectly for your situation.