Unlike the traditional tax filing deadline of the 15th April every year, there was a slight respite this year with the deadline extended until April 18th. With federal income tax, state income tax, total income tax, earnings. And then there are specific ways to calculate these taxes based on your filing type, locations, and annual earnings to add to the complications. Tax filing with so many calculations, number crunching is never a fun job.

You must be able to pick the software that more appropriately meets your requirements. The basic factors to be considered are:

• The nature of your job : The needs of a full-time employee or a part-timer, self-employed or a freelancer, owner of a start-up company or a corporation are all completely different. The earnings and the tax structure vary depending on specific needs. Hence, only a relevant software must be picked.
• The suitable version of software based on your income and tax situation : Typically, four main versions of any tax software are offered by the best tax software companies to suit your needs. The federal free edition supports in preparing and free e-filing of federal taxes and state taxes (with a nominal fee) for those with the most basic tax needs. The basic edition includes additional features with access to basic deduction-identification tools and improved support. The deluxe edition offers further tools to identify deductions through searches that are specific to any industry or occupation and tools for life events, donations, audit risk etc. The premium edition provides complete access to all the features of the software including deduction assistance expanded to rental properties, business-specific tax deductions and advanced calculators and additional investment resources.
• Various applicable deductions : There are standard deductions of $9,300 for household filing heads, $6,300 for individuals filing separate returns who are either single or married and $12,600 for married couples who wish to file jointly. However, there are other deductions that a typical software offers like charity donations, itemized deductions, business owner deductions, depreciation summary, vehicle deductions, deductions on rental property etc.

Based on the job quality, performance and reliability, there were a few key features that were offered by the best tax software that might help you while choosing a software. They are:

• It should guarantee on giving accuracy in completion of the job : The software should ideally not make any errors while filing your returns. The software company should pay compensation just in-case any excesses in taxes and penalties or interests are paid towards an IRS or state because of a calculation error thus guaranteeing you accuracy in their calculations.
• It must identify possible audit-risks : Failures from your side to report any of your income or any deviations in foreign accounts rules. Be it any red flags in your income statements, the software must be able to identify and provide alerts for all the possible audit items.
• Must provide multiple options for disbursement of refunds : Be it through checks, direct deposit, prepaid debit cards, savings bonds or anything else, you should be given the flexibility to choose how you want the refund to be paid to you.
• Should have a strong customer support system : You must be able to approach the backend support team of the software company for any issues that you face while using the software. Support can be either through live chat, video chat, screen sharing, e-mail support, telephone etc. with a very knowledgeable customer relations staff. The service staff must also be able to take an unlimited number of requests and the ability to schedule appointments and in-person support locations.
• Provide portability of all your forms and data : The software should provide the ease of uploading all the filing related data instead of having to type in everything. Features, like taking a picture of the W-2 or uploading an excel data format, will be appreciated. Or at the least, the software should automatically import your tax information from previous return.
• Compatibility with the hardware : While desktop version is the most basic requirement, with almost every activity of our daily life being digitalized, the ease of using a software in the form of apps on smartphones and tablets needs to be considered.
• Availability of extensive educational material : Various aspects related to taxes, returns filing, ways to save taxes etc. must be made available through the software provider’s online portal.