Cash App Taxes Review: Pros, Cons, And Alternatives

If you’re looking for free online tax software, Cash App Taxes is one of the only services offering truly free federal and state filing to all users. It doesn’t charge a cent regardless of your filing situation. If Cash App Taxes supports your needs (which it does for most people), it’s free to use.

While it doesn’t have all of the bells and whistles of the premium-priced TurboTax, it can handle the most common situations. Cash App Taxes made updates for the 2026 tax filing season (for 2025 income taxes) to keep up with changes to tax laws, tax brackets, and limits.

If you’re considering doing your taxes online this year, which is the most cost-effective option for most households, follow along with this Cash App Taxes to learn everything you need to know about this no-cost platform. If you want to see how Cash App Taxes compares to other DIY tax prep options, check out our top tax software picks for 2026.

Yes, Cash App Taxes is really free.

Cash App Taxes is 100% free and doesn’t have any paid tiers, upsells, or upgrades. If Cash App Taxes supports your needs, which it does for most people, you won’t have to enter a credit card number or pay at any point in the process.

Some tax filers, such as those who worked in multiple states or earned foreign income, may not be able to use Cash App Taxes. It also doesn’t support a limited number of states (Montana, New Hampshire, Tennessee, or Washington).

The only catch, if you call it one, is that users have to download and sign up for Cash App. The app is actually quite helpful. It offers peer-to-peer money transfers similar to PayPal and Venmo. Block, Inc., the company behind the Square ecosystem of payment, payroll, and business products, owns Cash App and Cash App Taxes.

Honestly, if you can use Cash App Taxes, you probably should. You can’t beat free tax filing!

Cash App Taxes made updates in 2026 to address tax law changes from Congress and IRS updates to limits, deductions, and brackets. The so-called ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ led to significant changes in taxes for health insurance, tipped employees, the standard deduction, small-business owner taxes, the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction, and more.

Cash App Taxes still doesn’t work for filers who need to file in multiple states, including if you moved to a new state mid-year or need to file a non-resident tax return. It doesn’t handle underpayment penalty calculations, which can be problematic for some filers, notably self-employed business owners and freelancers.

While you can’t import investment data, you can import a W-2 if a qualifying partner payroll company handles your W-2.

A couple of years ago, Cash App Taxes made significant design improvements, a nice refresh after its acquisition from Credit Karma (formerly Credit Karma Tax). Last year, we saw improvements in self-employment and independent contractor tax deductions and qualifying expenses. This is great for people who may have side hustled.

Cash App Taxes is continuing its streak as our top choice for free tax filing. You can find the full rankings of the Best Tax Software here.

Warning: You can’t use Cash App Taxes if you need to file in multiple states. If you moved during 2025, you can’t use Cash App Taxes to file your 2025 state tax returns.

Cash App Taxes makes tax filing relatively easy for most users. It only supports some W-2 imports but has decent calculators and a good user interface. Cash App Taxes is a top choice if you mostly have information from employment, bank interest, passive investments, or a small business.

However, active traders (crypto or stocks) must manually enter each trade, which is tedious and can lead to errors. It also doesn’t support those who live in two states, work across state lines, or have to file in two states for any other reason.

We also noticed the product didn’t catch errors, such as over-contributions to self-employed 401(k) plans, which led to challenges for a member of our team in accurately entering and submitting their tax return.

Cash App Taxes offers free tax filing for most people, but the software is more robust than its price tag implies. These are a few of the product’s best features.

Most online tax software offers a free tier that is incredibly limited, so most people are forced to upgrade to a paid tier. Not so with Cash App Taxes. It offers all of its features for free. Users only need to download the Cash App to access the robust software. It really is free.

Filers complete a short questionnaire at the start of the filing process. This streamlines the process so users don’t have to open or review information that isn’t relevant to them.

Cash App Taxes takes security very seriously. It requires users to use multi-factor authentication. A second form of authentication is a best practice that few other companies offer or require. You can use a code from a text message or email when logging in.

Cash App Taxes provides free Audit Support (through a third-party) to anyone who files with Cash App Taxes. The support includes organizing tax documents, writing to the IRS, and attending hearings associated with the audit.

Cash App Taxes is suitable for the typical tax filing scenario but has a few drawbacks, especially for those seeking premium features. You can check the Cash App Support page to see which situations they don’t support.

Limited Form Imports

Cash App Taxes only supports limited W-2 imports. If your employer or its payroll provider supports the feature, you can download your income details right into Cash App taxes with a few clicks. Otherwise, you’ll have to type it in manually. That’s not a huge deal for a simple W-2, but it is a hassle for other tax forms.

They don’t allow users to import 1099 forms from banks and brokerages. This may be a dealbreaker, especially for crypto or stock traders who don’t want to enter every transaction manually. Several years ago, when it was still Credit Karma Tax, I had a problem with the imports that resulted in an error on my tax return.

Cash App Taxes’ new navigation uses a customized menu. A short questionnaire streamlines the software, so users aren’t overwhelmed by irrelevant options. However, users must manually click into each section to enter their information. Users may accidentally skip certain sections if they don’t realize they apply to their tax filing.

Cash App Taxes offers free Federal and State filing. Users don’t have to pay for anything, including free Audit Defense.

Cash App Taxes is a surprisingly robust software, especially when it’s compared to bargain and mid-tier software. This year, Chime Taxes also launched a free tax software option that is very similar to Cash App Taxes.

Here’s a quick look at how it compares to FreeTax USA, TaxAct, and TaxSlayer.

Cash App Taxes significantly improved access to its product last year.

Users can simply file their taxes from their phone or computer at cash.app/taxes. When logging in for the first time this year, you’ll have to enter a new password for Cash App Taxes and authenticate your login using a code sent to you via text message.

You are required to create a Cash App account in order to use Cash App Taxes.

When using completely free tax software, you should expect to make a few compromises. In the case of Cash App Taxes, one compromise is limited support options.

Cash App does have a new dedicated Help Center for Cash App Taxes. But unlike premium tax software companies, you won’t be able to upgrade to tiers that include access to tax pros. 

If you have a technical problem with the app, you can call the company’s main customer service at 1-800-969-1940. But if you want the ability to ask tax-related questions to experts, you’ll likely want to choose a different tax software.

Using any tax software involves certain risks, but Cash App takes security more seriously than most tax companies. It leverages its experience as a banking/brokerage company to protect user information.

To keep your data safe, use unique passwords for every site you use, particularly financial ones like your banking and tax apps. If you’re doing your taxes on a public WiFi network, investing in a VPN can better secure your information.

Why Should You Trust Us?

The College Investor team has spent years reviewing the top tax filing options and has personal experience with most of the tax software tools. I have been the lead tax software reviewer since 2022 and have compared most of the major companies in the marketplace.

Our editor-in-chief, Robert Farrington, has been testing tax software tools since 2011 and has tried almost every tax filing product. Furthermore, our team has created reviews and video walk-throughs of all of the major tax preparation companies, which you can find on our YouTube channel.

We’re tax DIYers and want a good deal, just like you. We work hard to offer informed and honest opinions on every product we test.

How Was This Product Tested?

In our original tests, we used Cash App Taxes to complete a real-life tax return that included W-2 income, self-employment income, rental property income, and investment income. We tried to enter all the data and use every available feature. We then compared the result to all the other products we’ve tested, as well as a tax return prepared by a tax professional.

This year, we went back through and rechecked all the features we initially tested, as well as any new ones. We also validated the pricing options.

Note: Cash App Taxes is the best option for free tax filing. If you’re an active stock trader or have a more complex return, paying for an alternative may be worthwhile.

Cash App Taxes offers a free product that is more robust than most paid products on the market today. It doesn’t rival premium services (like TurboTax, H&R Block, and TaxSlayer), but it’s serviceable for most filers who don’t actively trade stocks or crypto.

Given the ease of use, we’re recommending Cash App Taxes as a top free tax filing option for this year. If your situation qualifies for Cash App Taxes, use it to save on tax preparation costs.

If you’re still not sure, check out our list of Cash App Taxes alternatives.Get started with Cash App Taxes here >>

Let’s answer a few of the most common questions people ask about Cash App Taxes:

Can Cash App Taxes help me file my crypto investments?

If you traded one or two tokens, you might want to use Cash App Taxes to file your taxes. Figuring out the cost basis on these trades won’t be too difficult. However, active traders must manually enter dozens or hundreds of transactions. This is too time-consuming to be worthwhile. Active traders should consider TaxAct or TurboTax to reduce the time spent filing.

Can Cash App Taxes help me with state filing in multiple states?

No. Cash App Taxes can help you file your Federal taxes, but it does not support multi-state filing. Tax filers who filed in multiple states should consider an alternative software program, such as Free Tax USA.

Do I have to pay if I have a side hustle?

Cash App Taxes is free for all users, including self-employed business owners and side hustlers.

Does Cash App Taxes offer refund advance loans?

Cash App Taxes doesn’t offer refund-advance loans, but filers can get their returns up to six days earlier if they deposit into a Cash App account. This is an FDIC-insured account.

Does Cash App Taxes offer any deals on refunds?

Cash App Taxes doesn’t offer any deals or incentives associated with refunds.