On the years, when I have a simple tax situation/return to complete, I have used TurboTax's free online tax return site.
As you may know, all educators qualify for a Teacher (Educator) Expenses Deduction which can help offset up to $250 of an educator's personal expenses towards classroom supplies, professional development, PPE, etc. This is an above-the-line deduction meaning you can still receive this deduction without itemizing (using the standard deduction).
TurboTax and all the other big name do-it-yourself online tax preparation companies have always allowed for this deduction within the free version of their software. However, Turbo Tax has recently made it where you have to pay to claim this deduction.
What makes this more egregious is since this amount gets taken off your AGI, you don't get that deduction back in-full on your refund, instead, it reduces your taxable income. Therefore, it could actually cost more to upgrade to the deluxe version to receive this deduction than what it would net you dollar-for-dollar in your refund.
Really, TurboTax? Why are you sticking it to teachers? This particular deduction ONLY affects teachers, so you must have made the conscious decision to now charge teachers access this above-the-line deduction. Now, according to your website and a subsequent phone call* I had with a TurboTax agent, in order to take this deduction it is now part of your paid Deluxe edition. This is a bad look. Several other competitor's sites aren't making teachers pay/upgrade to take this deduction on their (free) online tax platforms.
It's been a rough two years teaching through a pandemic - I have been teaching in-person since August of 2020. We teachers frequently buy classroom supplies and have even paid for our own PPE. Now, having to pay to upgrade to the Turbo Tax Deluxe Edition just to claim the Teacher (Educator) Expenses Deduction is a slap in the face. Again, the fee to upgrade is likely going to be more than what it nets an educator on their tax return. You'll lose money in the upgrade fee to be able to claim this deduction.
My advice to my fellow educators is to use another company that doesn't charge you to put this above-the-line deduction on your tax return.
*During my phone call with the TurboTax agent, they explained this change was (paraphrase) "due to all the changes over the past couple of years" (read: pandemic) and some things that used to be on their free version aren't anymore. They also tried to offer me a 20% discount on the Deluxe Online Version. (I declined) Then, they also reminded me of a service that TurboTax has where I could have the cost of the tax preparation deducted from my refund check. (I again declined)
