TurboTax is a service. It is not free.Besides for paying them for actually preparing the tax return, you are paying them for their tax knowledge, and asking you the right questions to cover all the bases.If your income tax return is fairly easy and repetitive every year, prepare your own tax return. For years where you have an unusual situation, like the sale of real estate, hire a tax professional.You can go to An official website of the United States government (the IRS website) and get forms and instructions, and even prepare your tax return on the IRS site.This does not take care of your state income tax return, if you are required to file one. Check your stateu2019s income tax website to see if you can prepare your state income tax return online there.