It’s the end of the year, and for those of us who like to plan ahead, it’s a good time to start thinking about taxes.
It’s enough paying for taxes – but the tax code is so complicated apparently we’re obligated to pay a pretty hefty sum for tax filing software or an even heftier sum paying for a tax accountant.
Thankfully, State Farm Bank comes to the rescue with a pretty lucrative offer: If you have a checking account, savings account, credit card, or loan with State Farm Bank (not insurance), they’re offering the online versions of TurboTax Deluxe for free, Premier for $20, and Home and Business for $30. These are sizable discounts – Deluxe is regularly $55, Premier $80, and Home and Business $105.
And if you don’t have an account with State Farm Bank already, there’s good news: you can open their basic checking account with just a $25 initial deposit, and the checking account has zero monthly fees and no balance minimums. What’s more, it actually seems like a pretty great checking option overall – up to $10 in ATM refunds per month for using foreign ATMs, and unlimited ATM refunds if you have direct deposit on your account. Not quite as good as Charles Schwab High Yield Investment Checking or Ally Bank Checking, but given the free TurboTax Deluxe offer that comes around yearly, definitely worth keeping open and possibly even using as a backup checking account.
You can open the account here: https://www.statefarm.com/finances/banking/checking-accounts/checking
It’s super simple, and you can fund with an online transfer from another bank account, a personal check, or even with a credit card. I wasn’t sure if the credit card option would be labeled as a cash advance or not on any of my cards and so played it safe with an online transfer from another bank, but you could easily call in to a credit card you have, have the cash advance limit lowered to $1 or $0, and then try to do a deposit from your credit card to see if it goes through. If it does, it should fund immediately and have your account open right away for you to take advantage of this deal. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait a few days to verify ownership of your external bank account first.
Once you’re done with that, go to this link: https://online2.statefarm.com/dashboard/turbotax.xhtml
Click “Get Started” on the left, and the rest should be self-explanatory. Enjoy!