[Loughla]

I've used them for five or six years. They keep getting better. The name sounds super sketchy, but they're legit.

They do charge for oddball forms, but they're super up front about that. Like when you select the forms they tell you the price. I have multiple income streams and multiple weirdo tax situations (farming, day job, three consulting firms, my own consulting) and it still only takes me 30 minutes to do my taxes with them.

[gavinhoward]

Relative of a FreeTaxUSA employee here.

> The name sounds super sketchy, but they're legit.

I've told them to change their name, and my relative has told them to change their name.

Their marketing department is...dumb, IMO. (My relative told me about a semi-recent marketing campaign, and it was laughable.) But quite frankly, I prefer a company where the marketing department is the only incompetent one.

[Loughla]

Tell your relative they're doing really good work, but a little change to their website might do wonders. Nothing crazy, maybe just something to make them not look like identity thieves.

>I prefer a company where the marketing department is the only incompetent one.

I have never thought about that, but it is exactly spot on. They're really good at what they do and really bad at selling it. Word of mouth seems to be the only way they get customers. I read about them on reddit and started using them. Now I tell everyone about that service.

[gavinhoward]

> Tell your relative they're doing really good work, but a little change to their website might do wonders.

You're absolutely correct. Fortunately, my relative is aware. Unfortunately, she's tried to tell them, and they don't believe her.

It annoys her so much.

[fakedang]

Tell her to show them this thread and how they're effectively turning into a laughing stock in spite of a great product (well, at least hoping my comment sends the message so she doesn't have to be so upfront about it :P).

[gavinhoward]

Already did!

[distract8901]

The name is sketchy and the website is just as bad. Every instinct I have says they're a shady scam site just waiting to steal my info.

But no, they're actually good and just have terrible marketing and design.

Sure makes doing my taxes interesting. I've been using them for three years

[mrguyorama]

>But no, they're actually good and just have terrible marketing and design.

Maybe we should realize WE are in the wrong for conflating "Shiny, animation filled website" with "not scam".

[distract8901]

I dunno, it's a little hard to trust a website is up to date on present day tax law when the entire site design came from a 1990s reject bin.

[yencabulator]

Those two are very different talent pools.

[spunker540]

I think we've all learned to conflate these things from lived experience, not some mis-placed prejudice against ugly UIs.

[phantom784]

What forms do they charge for? I've only seen them charge for state taxes.