Block is one of my favorite fin-tech companies. Block is the parent company of Square, Cash App, and more. Cash App is one of the top finance apps in the App Store and Google Play Store. The service is similar to PayPal and Venmo. It allows you to send, spend, or invest your money. You can buy stocks or Bitcoin. You can even bank with Cash App by setting up a direct deposit and getting a free cash back debit card. Join Cash App here and get $5 when you send or receive money through the app.
Back in November 2020, Credit Karma Tax was acquired by Cash App. After helping Credit Karma Tax customers complete their 2020 tax return, they rebranded to Cash App Taxes. While companies like TurboTax offer free simple tax returns, Cash App Taxes is claiming that all tax returns are free whether you have dividend income, crypto income, or Door Dash income to report.
What Does This Mean For Credit Karma Tax Customers?
If you filed a tax return with Credit karma Tax before, your history is saved and will transfer over into Cash App Taxes. The only catch? Now you need to have Cash App on your phone to log into Cash App Taxes. If you try to log in through your computer’s web browser, you will have to scan the barcode on the screen using Cash App on your phone. Only then you can log into Cash App Taxes. You can also complete your tax return through your phone, though it is quicker through a computer. You can also import your data from Turbo Tax or H&R Block if you completed your taxes with them in previous years.
How Cash App Taxes Compares to Turbo Tax
While I love Cash App, I was disappointed with Cash App Taxes. In the past, I have used Intuit TurboTax to complete my taxes online. To compare the two, I completed my tax return using both TurboTax and Cash App Taxes. I literally had two tabs open on my web browser with both TurboTax and Cash App Taxes open.
TURBO TAX FOUND AN ADDITIONAL $1000 IN DEDUCATIONS OVER CASH APP TAXES
Turbo Tax was the superior product. Here were the main advantages of using Turbo Tax.
- TurboTax gives better automated advice and has actual tax consultants you can speak to.
- TurboTax has a better search bar for finding help.
- TurboTax has a better algorithm for reading attached tax documents. Almost everything I submitted through Cash App Taxes needed to be typed in manually. Cash App Taxes could not read my tax forms.
- Cash App Taxes did not recognize all of the categories in my W2’s Box 12.
- TurboTax has a better user interface. There is no need to log in through the app and it is easier to navigate the site.
- TurboTax has better integration with Crypto, especially Coinbase & Coinbase Advanced.
How Is Cash App Taxes Better
The fact that you can complete your tax return through Cash App on your phone is very practical for those on the go. Not everyone has a computer and not everyone likes to use their computer. Even the statistics on FinanceThrottle.com show that approximately 85% of readers are reading this on their phone. While I prefer doing taxes on my desktop, many people may prefer using their phone.
The other advantage of Cash App Taxes is that it is completely 100% free. As I filled out my tax return, TurboTax kept offering me upgrades and protections at additional costs. In comparison, Cash App Taxes did not try to upgrade me to a premium product at any time through the process. TurboTax is free only for simple returns. If you have a small business, work for Uber or Door Dash, or make money off of investments and crypto, you need to pay to file your tax return.
Conclusion
While Cash App Taxes is free, TurboTax did find more deductions and save me more money on taxes. I don’t mind paying the ~$89 fee to file my taxes with Turbo Tax if it saves me hundreds of dollars over Cash App Taxes. I encourage you to try both. You can fill out your information for free and only pay when you file. Check out TurboTax or Credit Karma Tax/Cash App Taxes using the buttons below.
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