Filing your taxes with TurboTax starts at turbotax.intuit.com, where you create a free account, answer a series of guided questions about your income and life situation, and submit your return electronically to the IRS. The entire process takes most people between 30 minutes and two hours, depending on how complex their tax situation is. Here’s how to move through each stage from start to finish.
Gather Your Documents First
Before you open TurboTax, pull together every tax form and financial record you’ll need. Stopping mid-return to hunt for a missing document is the main reason people abandon a filing session and have to start over later. Most of these forms arrive by mail or become available for download from your employer, bank, or brokerage by the end of January.
At a minimum, you’ll need your Social Security number (plus SSNs and birthdates for your spouse and any dependents), your W-2 from each employer, and your bank account and routing numbers if you want your refund deposited directly. Beyond that, the specific forms depend on your financial life:
- Investment income: 1099-INT (interest), 1099-DIV (dividends), 1099-B (stock or bond sales), and records of any cryptocurrency transactions.
- Freelance or gig income: 1099-NEC (non-employee compensation) and 1099-K (payments from third-party platforms like Venmo for Business or Etsy).
- Retirement income: 1099-R (distributions from pensions, 401(k)s, or IRAs) and SSA-1099 (Social Security benefits).
- Deductions and credits: 1098 (mortgage interest), 1098-E (student loan interest), 1098-T (tuition payments), 1095-A (Health Insurance Marketplace coverage), and receipts for charitable donations.
- Other income: 1099-G (unemployment compensation or state tax refunds), W-2G (gambling winnings), and Schedule K-1 (income from a partnership, S corporation, or LLC).
Also keep last year’s tax return handy. TurboTax can import prior-year data to save you time, and certain figures from last year (like your adjusted gross income) are sometimes needed to verify your identity when you e-file.
Choose the Right TurboTax Version
TurboTax offers several tiers, and picking the wrong one usually means paying more than you need to, or getting prompted to upgrade partway through your return.
Free Edition costs $0 for both federal and state returns, but it only covers simple Form 1040 filings. That means W-2 income, the standard deduction, the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, student loan interest, and basic interest or dividend income. Roughly 37% of taxpayers qualify. If you itemize deductions, sell stocks, earn freelance income, or report rental property, you won’t be eligible.
Deluxe adds support for itemized deductions (mortgage interest, medical expenses, charitable gifts) and handles homeownership-related forms. It also covers limited Schedule D situations for personal item sales.
Premier is designed for investors and landlords. It covers stock sales, cryptocurrency, rental property income, and other investment-related schedules.
Premium (previously called Self-Employed) handles 1099-NEC freelance income, business expenses, and Schedule C. It includes a feature in the mobile app that lets you snap a photo of a 1099-NEC to auto-fill the data. Pricing for the do-it-yourself paid versions ranges from roughly $0 to $139 for the federal return, with state filing as an additional charge. Prices fluctuate based on when you file, with earlier filers often paying less.
If you want a tax professional to review your work or answer questions as you go, TurboTax offers an “Expert Assist” tier for each product level, starting at $59. A “Full Service” option, where an expert prepares and files for you, starts at $129.
Create Your Account and Start Your Return
Go to turbotax.intuit.com and either sign in with an existing Intuit account or create a new one using your email address. You’ll set up a password and verify your identity with a phone number. If you used TurboTax last year, signing in with the same account lets the software pull in your prior-year information automatically.
On the first screen after signing in, TurboTax asks what types of income you received. Select all that apply (W-2 job, freelance work, investments, retirement distributions). Based on your answers, TurboTax recommends a product tier. You can accept the recommendation or scroll down to choose a different edition if you know the free version covers your situation.
Work Through the Interview
TurboTax doesn’t hand you a blank tax form. Instead, it walks you through a question-and-answer interview, translating your answers into the correct IRS forms behind the scenes. You’ll move through several sections in order: personal information, income, deductions and credits, and finally review.
In the income section, TurboTax can auto-import your W-2 data if your employer partners with the platform. You’ll enter your employer’s name or EIN (the number in box “b” on your W-2), and if a match is found, the form populates automatically. If not, you type in each box manually. The same import feature works for many 1099 forms from major banks and brokerages.
For deductions, TurboTax compares your itemized deductions against the standard deduction and tells you which saves you more money. You don’t need to decide in advance. Just enter all your deductible expenses (mortgage interest, state taxes paid, medical bills, charitable contributions) and let the software do the math.
Throughout the interview, look for the “Explain This” or question-mark icons next to any term you don’t recognize. TurboTax includes plain-language explanations for almost every field.
Review and Fix Errors
After you’ve entered everything, TurboTax runs an automated review that checks for common mistakes: missing Social Security numbers, math errors, blank fields that the IRS requires, and deductions that seem unusually large relative to your income. Each flagged item includes an explanation and a link to jump directly to the screen where you can fix it.
This is also where you’ll see your estimated refund or balance due. If the number surprises you, use the “Tax Summary” tool (under “Tax Tools” in the left sidebar) to see a breakdown of your income, deductions, and credits. That makes it easier to spot whether a form was entered incorrectly or a deduction was missed.
File Your Return Electronically
Once you’re satisfied with your review, TurboTax walks you through the e-file process. You’ll choose how to receive your refund (direct deposit is fastest) or how to pay any balance due (bank withdrawal, credit card, or check). Then you’ll sign your return electronically using your prior-year adjusted gross income or an IRS Identity Protection PIN if you have one.
Click the final “File” button, and TurboTax transmits your federal and state returns to the IRS and your state tax agency. You’ll see a confirmation screen with a confirmation number. Save or print this page for your records.
Track Your Return After Filing
After you submit, your return goes through three stages. You can check the current status by signing into your TurboTax account or using the TurboTax mobile app.
Pending means your return has been transmitted but the IRS hasn’t processed it yet. Most returns move past this stage within 24 to 48 hours. Accepted means the IRS received your return and confirmed the basic information (SSN, filing status) is correct. This does not mean your refund is approved yet, just that your return is in the system. Rejected means something needs to be corrected before the IRS will accept it. Common reasons include a mistyped Social Security number, a dependent already claimed on another return, or a name that doesn’t match IRS records. TurboTax explains the rejection reason and lets you fix and resubmit at no extra charge.
Once your return is accepted, refunds typically arrive within 21 days if you chose direct deposit. Paper checks take six to eight weeks. You can also track your refund directly on the IRS “Where’s My Refund?” tool at irs.gov, which updates once daily, usually overnight.
Tips to Speed Up the Process
Importing your W-2 and 1099 data instead of typing it manually saves time and reduces errors. If your employer or bank supports the import feature, use it. Double-check the imported numbers against your paper copies to make sure nothing was pulled in incorrectly.
Choose direct deposit over a paper check. Beyond the faster refund, it eliminates the risk of a lost or stolen check. You can split your refund across up to three bank accounts if you want to direct part of it into savings.
File early in the season when possible. Beyond potentially locking in lower TurboTax pricing, early filers reduce their exposure to tax identity theft, where someone files a fraudulent return using your Social Security number before you do. If that happens, your legitimate return gets rejected, and resolving it with the IRS can take months.