The IRS has indicated that 70% of Americans are eligible to use Free File even with the qualifying restrictions.

About the Free File Alliance

The Free File Alliance is a nonprofit coalition of industry-leading tax software providers that partners with the IRS to serve 100 million taxpayers. To use Free File, your income must be $73,000 or less in the 2021 tax year (the return you’ll file in 2022) to qualify for the federal Free File Alliance program. That’s total income, whether you’re single or married filing jointly. Taxpayers can use Free File to claim the remaining amount of their child tax credit and claim any advance payments of this credit that they did not receive in 2021. You can print out your tax forms on a link provided on the IRS’s Free File website if you earn more than $73,000 in 2021, and they’re free as well. You’ll have to complete them on your own rather than with the help of software, but the site does offer some minimal guidance. The Free File Alliance providers are free to adjust their income requirements downward, and some do, but OLT adheres to the $73,000 figure. This is your adjusted gross income (AGI) after various deductions, not your overall gross income. Some providers also impose age and state restrictions, but OLT doesn’t do that. And OLT includes a free state return if you qualify for the free federal return.

The software’s interface consists of a series of data input worksheets. Users first have the option to select their tax return type by choosing from Form 1040, Form 1040NR, and Form 1040-SS. Seniors who are over age 65 can file Form 1040-SR. The 1040NR return is for nonresidents, and the SS return is for residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico to report self-employment income if they’re not otherwise obligated to file a tax return.

The Data Entry Portion

A variety of headlines and help notes provide guidance when you get into the data entry portion of the program. The process flow appears at the top of each screen, including income, deductions/credits, health care, other, and review. Users can also go to the federal, state, file, view return, preferences, and account tabs at the top of the screen when information has been input. A box providing help for the page’s topic appears on the right side of each page.

Income Entries

Beginning with income sources, the software allows for a multitude of earnings data in numerous sections, including:

Wages and salariesInterest and dividendsInvestment incomeRetirement and pension incomeMiscellaneous incomeSelf-employment incomeOther investment incomeGambling incomeOther income types

All of these include the necessary addendum forms that apply to each income type.

Deductions and Credits

The software moves to deductions and credits after income. The user begins with an outline in this section, including adjustments to income, deductions, qualified business income deductions, credits, payments, and refundable credits.

The Final Two Sections

The final two sections include healthcare and “other.” You’ll be required to provide information on your health plan for the year and information from your Form 1095-A in the first section. Users can choose from various forms in the final section. They’re grouped by taxes, other taxes, and miscellaneous. Each page displays the required payment or available refund in the top right corner. Users can view PDF copies of their federal returns when they’re satisfied with the information they’ve provided, and they can then move on to the state return. The state return process follows the same procedures. The software walks the user through income, deductions and credits, healthcare, and other issues. It also provides a review of the state return and a PDF copy when it’s completed.

Help Features

The free file OLT version also offers email responses seven days a week during tax season. Users who email questions will usually receive a response within 24 to 48 hours.

Overall Experience of the Software

OLT offers everything a user would expect in an online tax preparation service. It also seems to go above and beyond the necessary data entry by requesting an additional layer of personal information along with a broadened array of addendum form options in the income and credits sections. Taxpayers with just a little tax savvy might fare better than those who need a bit more guidance, however. Some users have reported that they were left to determine which corresponding form or schedule they were supposed to complete and submit with their returns. The help features will answer your questions but might take a little more time.

The OLT Paid Service

Beyond the Free File option, OLT also offers an attractive OLT Premium upgrade for only $7.95 per federal return, plus $7.95 for a state return. You can check out the OLT software for yourself at OnLine Taxes Free File Edition.