The Easy Way to File Your Taxes, Worry-Free

This post is in partnership with H&R Block, but all opinions and experiences are 100% my own.

It’s tax season! And if you’re a content creator, influencer or freelancer of any sorts this might not be a season to get excited for. There’s so much confusion around how and what to do, but with the right tools to back you up there’s nothing to be afraid of.

This is my first year with a sizable income as an influencer -- fun fact: I made the same “salary” as my mid-level PR job when I first moved to NYC in 2016! -- and with that and my 9 to 5 income, I knew my tax situation was about to get a little more complicated. I battled between sticking to online filing or going to meet someone in-person and ultimately I decided to get the best of both worlds with H&R Block!

H&R Block Online is an easy, cost-effective way to do your own taxes via your smartphone or computer (bonus: always at least $10 less than TurboTax*). They offer four affordable and easy-to-use solutions under the DIY umbrella, allowing taxpayers like you and me to select a solution that’s right for most life/employment situations and budgets. They also have a free option, which most students and first-time filers can use..

Here’s some highlights about my experience:

Which Type is Right for Me: I used H&R Block Self-Employed Online because it provided the most flexibility for those who have complex tax situations from self-employment income sources. It includes a guided Schedule C interview (translation: making sure you’ve got all your bases covered). This was a deal and only set me back $79.99 for Federal and $36.99 per state filed.
Getting Started: It’s easy to switch to H&R Block Online in as few as two clicks with the “drag and drop” feature. You import last year’s tax return (no matter who prepared it) by simply clicking on the file on your computer, dragging and dropping it into the appropriate screen. Everything was user-friendly and fast, it was a great first impression. Because I knew I might have questions along the way, I also signed up for H&R Block Online Assist, which offers unlimited, on-demand chat sessions with a highly trained H&R Block tax expert, IRS enrolled agent or CPA.
Tell Us About Your Income: If you have a W2 job only, this part is so fast and easy. You can manually type it in or snap a photo and upload. I dropped in my W2 and moved on to the self-employment section. Pro Tip: While some might encourage it, you don’t actually have to upload each 1099 form received. This year, I was owed more than 20 - too much paperwork! - so since I meticulously track my freelance income I skipped uploading each and wrote down the number they needed.
Deductions and Expenses: My W2 friends, you will speed through this. I actually sat down with Justin while he did his taxes with H&R Block and it took him under 5 minutes! Freelancers, creators and other self-employed peeps save yourself the headache and track your expenses at the very least monthly so that all you have to do is simply log them in when doing your taxes. Do your research on the deduction category that matches your industry and log every single expense by category somewhere trusted (check out H&R Block’s free MyBlock app that allows you to track everything in one secure place). Having done this year round (I do it every few days!) it only took me about 10 minutes to drop them into their perspective expense categories.
Verifications and a Few Extra Checks: What I love about filing online is that technology is working in your favor to quickly gather your information and make sure your best-case-scenario is what you’re getting.
A Real Human!? This part was most surprising and exciting! When I thought I was totally done, I had the option to send everything through to a real person for a double-check. After a few days, my CPA actually came back and said I had a slightly smaller tax liability than I thought. Somewhere along the way, she found a way to save me a few hundred dollars! What also blew my mind is that having filed online before, I never realized the true power of having a real person look over your taxes with their professional eye for added peace of mind.

All of this took me about two hours total to finish and that was me starting, stopping, double-checking my own records. For fun (seriously, I love taxes!) I timed Justin filing his taxes since his were very straightforward and simple - so he took advantage of H&R Block Free Online - and from start to finish it took him 20 MINUTES! That’s how easy it was!

Remember when I said taxes weren’t that exciting? I challenge you to think that after using H&R Block. It was truly the easiest online service I’ve used - even with a complicated tax situation like mine - and I have a strong sense of security knowing someone from their established network of professionals had visibility for extra reassurance that I had done everything right.

H&R Block’s purpose is to provide help and inspire confidence in communities by delivering unique, affordable and transparent experiences where expertise meets care. I FELT THAT!