eSmart Tax Review (2024): For Business, Self-Employed, Investments, Reader Discounts, And More

Everyone dreads tax time, which is why so many online providers are trying to make your filing as easy as possible. How does eSmart Tax stack up to the competition? With no software to download, free trials of any of their service options (you only pay if you submit your return), and over 2,500 office locations, eSmart has a lot to offer, but at what cost?

Liberty Tax, a well-established and long-time tax service provider, owns eSmart Tax, so you get the benefits of Liberty Tax when you sign up for eSmart Tax. Read our eSmart Tax review to find out if it’s the right fit for your needs. This eSmart Tax review covers 2022 products for the 2021 tax year.

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Article Overview

• Rating, Pros & Cons
• Can It Compete Against Big Name Tax Companies?
• 2022 Tax Solutions
• Reader Discounts
• Overview Of eSmart (Video)
• User Reviews
• eSmart vs Competitors

eSmart Tax

8

Cost 9.0

Ease of Use 8.0

Professional Tax Prep Assistance 8.0

Features 8.0

Customer Support 7.0

Pros

• Very affordable pricing, especially for the number of features
• Free live chat and email support
• In-person support at Liberty Tax offices nationwide
• Import last year’s return from most major tax services
• 100% guarantee for biggest return, accuracy and customer satisfaction
• Free W-2 download
• Free professional audit assistance

Cons

• No larger business filing options
• Additional fee for enhanced audit assistance and storing your prior returns
• No downloadable software available

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Can eSmart Compete?

With so many people e-filing these days, how do companies like eSmart Tax compete against the big online tax software companies?

One of the most appealing aspects included in all of eSmart tax filing options —  it provides support at any of the 2,500+ office locations throughout the United States and Canada. That means that unlike most online filing services, eSmart filers can get access to a tax professional in person when they have questions about their filing.

What’s missing from eSmart Tax compared to the top-of-the-line services? Downloadable software, the ability to ask questions to a community using an interactive forum, no phone support, national average comparisons and the ability to file as a larger business.

Products Offered By eSmart Tax

Another great feature of eSmart Tax is its product wizard. If you’re not sure which edition is right for you or which forms you need in order to file, eSmart Tax starts you off with a free and easy questionnaire about your past year’s financially related circumstances to help you determine your filing needs.

All e-Smart Editions also include:

• Free live chat and email support
• Credit maximizer
• W-2 download from your employer
• Import last year’s return FREE from any competitor (TurboTax, H&R Block, etc.)
• Professional audit assistance (enhanced is an additional $29.99 fee)
• Access to Affordable Care Act forms.
• 100% guarantee — biggest refund, accuracy, and customer satisfaction
• Ability to save returns for five years (for an additional fee)

Pricing

Discounts below available at time of writing but not guaranteed.

Coupon Code

Our reader discounts are automatically applied when you click here.

eSmart Overview (Video)

Learn more about eSmart Tax and the interface in this video.

eSmart Tax Consumer Reviews

Here’s a sampling of what consumers have to say about their experiences with eSmart Tax.

Positive Reviews

Unfortunately, it was difficult for us to find more recent positive reviews for eSmart Tax, so these reviews are more outdated than we’d like them to be.

The people were nice and extremely helpful. They walked me right through the program, and it was fast and easy. They also expanded the detail and direction in which my data was used and received. The refund experience was also good and I got back what they said I would. I thought the refund would be a long time but it was actually faster than I had been sent. Filing was not hard at all. I thought it was a real learning experience and I would do it again if I ever needed to. – Ray, ConsumerAffairs 1/9/2017

I definitely recommend it as it meets the expectations and adapts to all needs. It is a basic and elemental tool for our activities. It is of great trust and enjoys high appreciation in the market which assists. – Rosa, ConsumerAffairs 12/30/2016

Complaints

Liberty tax’s online tax application is unbelievably bad for what should be a relatively simple process. I’ve had several chats with their customer service, who seem to not have any idea how to fix the web glitches. The solution: visit a Liberty Tax office, to pay them MORE money. If you actually want to submit your taxes online without a hassle, Do NOT use Liberty Tax. – Samuel, ConsumerAffairs 6/17/2019

To my recent surprise, I received a notification from my state tax board that they had not received my state taxes for 2016 and 2017. They are assessing a penalty against me. I filed my state taxes through eSmart tax online and have documentation to prove that yet apparently eSmart tax took my money but did not file the returns. I am deeply concerned that the site is either not being managed well or is fraudulent in some way. Going forward I will not use them again. I recommend to stay away from this company, eSmart Tax. – John, ConsumerAffairs 4/12/2019

How Does eSmart Tax Compare To The Competition?

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There are always going to be those who prefer to go with a big-name tax service provider rather than a “newer” company like eSmart Tax, but the services offered by eSmart Tax are comparable to most of the big-name, online tax filing providers. Compare all of the leading tax filing services before you commit to a provider in our online tax preparation service comparison.