FreeTaxUSA vs H&R Block (FreeTaxUSA vs HR Block) 2026 prices, self-employed returns and which tax software to buy

FreeTaxUSA vs H&R Block pricing in 2026

These two products are priced on opposite ideas. FreeTaxUSA gives away the federal return for every kind of filer and makes its money on the state return and a few optional add-ons. H&R Block runs a tier ladder online, where each new form on your return can push you up a tier, and it runs a second business entirely in its offices, where a preparer does the return for a fee built from the forms you bring.

The H&R Block figures below come from two independent reviews dated January 9, 2026 and April 28, 2026, which agree on every online tier. The FreeTaxUSA figures come from a review updated in January 2026. Vendors adjust prices during the season, so check the checkout page before you commit.

One oddity is worth knowing before you pick a tier. Both reviews list H&R Block Self-Employed at $85, below Premium at $89. Premium includes Schedule C, but Self-Employed is the tier built around a business with expenses, and it is the one a freelancer or driver should compare. The full breakdown of what H&R Block charges online and in an office, and the cheaper routes around it, is on our H&R Block competitors page.

What a real return costs in each, scenario by scenario

Tier prices hide the total, because the state charge is added at the end. Here are five common returns priced end to end for one state unless the row says otherwise, with no add-ons.

Read across and FreeTaxUSA wins every row but the first. That is the honest headline. H&R Block wins the simplest W-2 return outright, because its free tier includes the state return, which FreeTaxUSA does not. The moment a Schedule A, a Schedule C or a second state appears, H&R Block becomes the most expensive of the three.

TaxFile is not the cheapest anywhere on this table. It lands $33 under H&R Block on the one-state Schedule C return, which is the return most of our buyers have, and above FreeTaxUSA on every row. What that money buys on a self-employed return is covered next, because on a Schedule C the software fee is rarely the biggest number.

Is FreeTaxUSA better than H&R Block for self-employed filers?

On price, yes, by about $106 on a one-state Schedule C return. Both products carry the full Schedule C and Schedule SE, both compute the 15.3 percent self-employment tax on 92.35 percent of net profit, and identical inputs give an identical refund. The software does not change the tax you owe.

What changes it is what you enter. A driver with 14,000 business miles in 2026, split evenly across the year, has about $10,395 of mileage at the IRS rates of 72.5 cents through June 30 and 76 cents from July 1. Leaving that off costs roughly $1,470 in self-employment tax before any income tax. Neither FreeTaxUSA nor H&R Block online reads your forms for you. Both ask you to type each W-2 and 1099 box and to recognize which expense categories apply to your work.

That is where TaxFile fits. You upload your W-2s, 1099-NECs and 1099-Ks, the software reads the figures into the right boxes, sweeps for the deductions your kind of work usually carries, and lists each one with a short note before you approve anything. If you know your deductions cold, FreeTaxUSA is the right buy. If you are in your first or second year of freelance work, the tax software for self-employed filers page shows what the sweep covers and the tax deduction finder lists every category it checks.

Where H&R Block beats FreeTaxUSA

H&R Block charges more because it sells more than software, and a fair comparison says so.

• A walk-in office. H&R Block runs thousands of US offices, and you can hand the whole return to a preparer. Both 2026 reviews put simple in-office returns from $59 federal plus $59 per state, with complex returns priced higher. FreeTaxUSA has no offices at all.
• A path from software to a person. You can start online and add a tax pro review, or move to full service partway through. FreeTaxUSA offers chat and phone support but never takes the return off your hands.
• In-person audit support. H&R Block includes in-person audit support with its guarantees. FreeTaxUSA sells audit defense as a $19.99 add-on through a partner.
• The free tier includes state. For a simple return that qualifies, H&R Block is $0 all in, which beats FreeTaxUSA by $15.99.

If a person across a desk is what gets your return filed, that is worth the price difference, and the tax preparation fees page shows what preparers across the market charge for the same return.

Where FreeTaxUSA beats H&R Block

• Price on almost every return. $0 federal at every level and $15.99 per state, against $35 to $89 federal and $37 per state at H&R Block.
• No tier walls. A mortgage, a side business, a stock sale or a rental does not move you to a pricier product partway through.
• Multiple states. A two-state year costs $31.98 in total, where H&R Block charges $74 in state fees alone.
• Cheap amendments. $16.98 buys unlimited amendments, one of the lowest prices in the category.

FreeTaxUSA against the rest of the market, including where it does not fit, is on the FreeTaxUSA alternative page. The other two head-to-heads buyers run are FreeTaxUSA vs TurboTax and TaxAct vs FreeTaxUSA, both priced on the same returns.

FreeTaxUSA or H&R Block, which one to buy

Still weighing more than two products? The tax software comparison puts every major option in one table, and TurboTax pricing covers the third brand most buyers check.