Free tax filing for 1099 and gig workers
Updated for the 2026 filing season
Schedule C, the form for freelance and gig income, is the single most common reason a “free” return gets upgraded to paid partway through. Here's which providers include it at no cost and which don't.
Includes Schedule C free
- Cash App Taxes — free federal and state, any complexity
- FreeTaxUSA — free federal, flat-fee state
Requires an upgrade
Depends on eligibility
TaxAct and TaxSlayer may cover it through the IRS Free File program depending on your income, worth checking against the current cutoff before assuming either way.
Quarterly estimated taxes
Filing software handles the annual return, not quarterly estimated payments during the year. That's a separate obligation for most gig income and worth tracking independently of which free filer you pick.