Best Tax Apps for Tablets

Do your taxes on your iPad or Android tablet

If you'd like to tap and swipe your way through your taxes, all three major tax prep software brands offer iPad and Android apps. However, TaxACT Deluxe Tablet App 2012 (*Est. $10) beats the others hands down. It's a free download, and you can prepare and file unlimited federal tax returns free on either iPad or Android, which no other tax program offers. TaxACT lets you switch back and forth seamlessly between your tablet and computer, too.

"There's no reason to consider any other tablet app for the 2012 tax year," says PCMag.com's Kathy Yakal, who tests TaxACT's app alongside those from TurboTax and H&R Block. In addition to the app, all of TaxACT's online programs have a tablet-optimized version. The Deluxe version includes extras like a donation tracker, free phone help and more in-depth guidance. It's very similar to the top-rated TurboTax Deluxe 2012 (*Est. $50) computer software, but much cheaper.

TurboTax for iPad 2012 (*Est. $30 and up to file (free download)) is our runner-up choice. You get the famous TurboTax ease -- clear questions and wonderful built-in help -- but it has a few flaws. The program charges $30 to $75 depending on which forms you need, and won't tell you how much you'll pay until you're ready to file. Also, you can't switch between the iPad-only app and your computer. And have fun transferring last year's tax data into the app; you'll need a USB cable and instructions from TurboTax on how to copy your old return and sync it through iTunes.

H&R Block Free Edition for iPad (free to download and file) lags behind in tests at PCMag.com and Macworld, where weaker tax help and a tendency to time-out irritate testers. And in Salvador Rodriguez's test at the Los Angeles Times, the Block app misses hundreds of dollars' worth of refunds that the TurboTax app finds.