The Best Tax-Prep Apps

It's not as hard as you think to prepare your own taxes—and you get to keep more of your refund. We test, rate, and compare eight popular online services that can help.

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Netflix

Editors' Rating: excellent 02.22.2018

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Bottom Line: If your goal is to cut the cord, Netflix is a great place to start, thanks to its reasonable price, large collection of TV shows and movies, and growing stable of critically acclaimed original content.
BullGuard Premium Protection
Editors' Rating: good 02.22.2018

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Bottom Line: BullGuard Premium Protection adds identity protection and network security scanning to the uneven features of BullGuard Internet Security. The added features are worthwhile, and a quirk in pricing makes Premium Protection a better deal.
TopTracker
Editors' Rating: good 02.22.2018

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Bottom Line: TopTracker gives freelancers a way to track their time at no cost. Unique features, like saving periodic screenshots of your work, add to its appeal, but it can't help you at all with invoicing.
A2 Web Hosting
Editors' Rating: excellent 02.22.2018

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Bottom Line: Packed with features, A2 is a web hosting service that's more than worthy of being the foundation for your website.
Garmin Vivoactive 3

Editors' Rating: excellent 02.22.2018

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Bottom Line: The Garmin Vivoactive 3 is an attractive, durable wearable that hits the sweet spot between fitness tracker and smartwatch functionality.
MobileHelp Classic

Editors' Rating: excellent 02.22.2018

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Bottom Line: The MobileHelp Classic is a comprehensive in-home medical alert system that uses cellular technology to connect you to a 24/7 emergency response center with the press of a button.
Onyx Boox Max2
Editors' Rating: excellent 02.22.2018

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Bottom Line: The Onyx Boox Max2 is an impressively capable Android tablet with a 13.3-inch E Ink screen and a useful stylus...but it costs as much as an iPad Pro.
Lomography Lomo'Instant Square
Editors' Rating: excellent 02.21.2018

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Bottom Line: The Lomography Lomo'Instant Square is the first true analog camera to use Instax Square film. It also has a nifty folding design and a seriously sharp lens.
Pentax K-1 Mark II
02.21.2018

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Bottom Line: The Pentax K-1 Mark II camera looks like a very minor upgrade to its predecessor, but shows that Pentax is committed to full-frame photography.
AmazonBasics 8-Sheet Strip-Cut Shredder
Editors' Rating: good 02.21.2018

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Bottom Line: The AmazonBasics 8-Sheet Strip-Cut Shredder is tiny, fast, budget-priced, and meant for light-duty use, but is unsuitable for shredding confidential documents or ones containing personal data.
FreeTax USA Deluxe 2018 (Tax Year 2017)
Editors' Rating: good 02.21.2018

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Bottom Line: FreeTax USA is a robust personal tax preparation website that lets you e-file your federal tax returns for free, though you have to pay for state filing and support.
Jackson Hewitt Deluxe 2018 (Tax Year 2017)
Editors' Rating: fair 02.21.2018

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Bottom Line: The user experience, navigation tools, and help system you get with Jackson Hewitt Deluxe aren't up to par, especially given its high price. There are better ways to file your taxes online.
Liberty Tax Online Basic 2018 (Tax Year 2017)
Editors' Rating: good 02.21.2018

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Bottom Line: Liberty Tax Online Basic is a decent service from the well-known brick-and-mortar tax preparers. It's easy enough to use but lacks well-integrated, accessible guidance.
AmazonBasics 17-Sheet High-Security Shredder
Editors' Rating: excellent 02.21.2018

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Bottom Line: The AmazonBasics 17-Sheet High-Security Shredder is a good choice for up to heavy-duty, secure shredding for a small office or workgroup, or a busy home office.
Swingline Stack-and-Shred 300X Shredder With SmarTech
Editors' Rating: good 02.21.2018

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Bottom Line: The Swingline Stack-and-Shred 300X Shredder With SmarTech offers hands-free shredding and pairs with an app that monitors your jobs, but you'll pay a premium price for these conveniences.
RescueTime

Editors' Rating: outstanding 02.21.2018

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Bottom Line: Waste less time and get more done with RescueTime, an outstanding time-management tool that provides intelligent insights into how you spend your days. It's one of the best productivity apps we've ever tested.