Not tax advice. Information here is general guidance. Tax laws change. Verify with the IRS or a licensed CPA for your specific situation.
TurboTax vs Tax Professional / CPA (in-person): which antivirus should you choose?
Comparing TurboTax ($119.00/year first, $119.00 renewal) and Tax Professional / CPA (in-person) ($350.00/year first, $350.00 renewal). Detection rate, system impact, and bundled features compared.
| TurboTax | Tax Professional / CPA (in-person) | |
|---|---|---|
| First-year price | $119.00 | $350.00 |
| Renewal price | $119.00 | $350.00 |
| Devices | Web + Mobile + Desktop | In-person + Phone |
| Malware detection | 0% | 0% |
| AV-TEST score | n/a | n/a |
| Ransomware protection | ✗ | ✗ |
| Firewall | ✗ | ✗ |
| VPN included | ✗ | ✗ |
| Password manager | ✗ | ✗ |
| Parental controls | ✗ | ✗ |
| Dark web monitoring | ✗ | ✗ |
| Identity theft protection | ✗ | ✗ |
| Cloud backup | ✗ | ✗ |
| Money-back days | 60 | 0 |
| Overall score | 5/5 | 4/5 |
TurboTax
TurboTax is the default for most US tax filers. Best UX, most-polished interview-style filing, strongest CPA-review add-on. Most expensive at higher tiers but justified for self-employed and complex returns.
Get TurboTax →Tax Professional / CPA (in-person)
A human CPA is the right pick for genuinely complex returns: business entities, multi-state, foreign income, high net worth, audit risk. Skip CPA for simple W-2 returns — software is faster and cheaper there.
Get Tax Professional / CPA (in-person) →