TurboTax vs H&R Block vs Keeper for self-employed taxes

As a freelancer you file Form 1040 with Schedule C for your business profit and Schedule SE for self-employment tax, plus your state return. Any of the options below handles those forms. The difference is how much help you get, who checks the result, and what you pay. Prices come from each company's site; tax software prices also change during the filing season, so check again in January.

The options side by side

IRS Free File: check this first

The IRS runs Free File with private software companies. For the 2026 filing season (2025 returns), its announcements put the limit for the guided software at $89,000 of adjusted gross income, and some older IRS pages show a different number, so check irs.gov/freefile when you file. Each of the partners sets its own extra rules, and not every one handles Schedule C or a state return, so read the partner's offer before you start. AGI is after business expenses, so a freelancer with $110,000 of revenue and $25,000 of expenses can qualify. Free File Fillable Forms has no income limit, but it's a set of forms, not an interview. The IRS said Free File was open through October 15, 2026 for extension filers; the next season opens in January.

TurboTax, H&R Block and Keeper

• TurboTax Do It Yourself Premium, the plan Intuit used to call Self-Employed, lists $139 for the federal return. Intuit says the final price depends on your situation, and the state return is extra. It suits people who want an interview that asks about each expense, and people who already use Intuit's QuickBooks; check which numbers carry over.
• H&R Block Self-Employed Online covers Schedule C and Schedule SE. Its Free Online tier excludes self-employment income, so freelancers land on a paid tier. We couldn't confirm its current price on hrblock.com; the price appears as you file. H&R Block also has offices, which helps if you might want a person to take over halfway.
• Keeper bundles an expense tracker with the return. Standard is $199 a year and a tax professional reviews the return before it's filed. It costs more than TurboTax's list price on federal alone, but includes the tracking and the review, and Keeper's price is per year rather than per return plus state.

Whichever you use, the software only knows what you type in. The time-consuming part is the same in all of them: adding up a year of business expenses by category and matching your income to the 1099s you received. If those numbers are ready before you start, any of these options takes an evening rather than a weekend.

Choose this if

Before you file, whichever you choose

• Gather every 1099-NEC and 1099-K, and compare them with your own income records; see 1099-K vs 1099-NEC.
• Total your expenses by Schedule C category; see Schedule C expense categories.
• List the quarterly estimated payments you made, with dates. The quarterly estimated taxes guide covers next year's schedule.
• Check your self-employment tax with the self-employment tax calculator as a sanity check on the software's result.

Where SoloWOS fits

SoloWOS doesn't prepare or file tax returns. Its Expenses report shows income from paid invoices, costs by category and profit by month, and you can log business expenses with receipts during the year and export a CSV to enter in whichever tax software you pick.

Prices checked on October 23, 2026 on each company's site.

General information about tax software for the 2026 filing season, not tax advice.