European Alternatives to TurboTax
Looking for a European alternative to TurboTax? TurboTax is made by Intuit Inc., and its own pages show US-specific offers such as federal e-filing, Refund Advance loans issued by WebBank and money movement services from Intuit Payments Inc., so the contracting parties named on the page are US companies. The TurboTax site lists Free Edition, Do It Yourself Deluxe and Premium, Expert Assist, Full Service and a Desktop product, with local TurboTax offices.
The European tools below file returns for Germany, Switzerland and the UK, publish fixed prices from CHF 0.- to EUR 49.99 where stated, and name an operator with a register entry. They do not file US returns, so they fit residents of those countries rather than US filers.
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Category fit and hands-on review
What the tool actually does, who it suits, and where it falls short — checked against the vendor’s own documentation, changelog and pricing page rather than its marketing copy.
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12 European Alternatives to TurboTax
eTax
Swiss online tax return, free for taxpayers
WISO Steuer
German tax software with free trial and flat prices
Steuerbot
Chat-based German tax app with pay-later option
smartsteuer
Hannover tax software paid only at submission
Taxando
German tax app with adviser tier on success fee
SteuerFuchs
Browser tax return since 2002, EUR 19.95 to file
Taxfix
Berlin tax app with optional independent advisers
wundertax
Berlin online tax return, pay only on submission
SteuerGo
Tax software with AI receipt scanning in five languages
Lohnsteuer kompakt
Employee tax return from the SteuerGo operator
Taxfix UK
UK Self Assessment filed by an accountant, ex-TaxScouts
Simpletax
Swiss tax return filled out for you at 10 locations
Key takeaways
- TurboTax is an Intuit Inc. product built for US returns, so no European tool on this page files a US federal return.
- eTax lists CHF 0.- per year for taxpayers, the only stated zero price among the twelve tools on this page.
- SteuerFuchs lists the lowest filing fee with a stated number, EUR 19.95 through ELSTER.
- Taxando and Taxfix both offer an adviser route for German returns, and both tie the adviser fee to the size of the refund.
- Taxfix UK is the only tool on this page that files UK Self Assessment returns, and an accountant does the work.
Why people leave TurboTax
TurboTax is the consumer tax filing product of Intuit Inc., a United States company. Its home page lists a Free Edition, Do It Yourself Deluxe and Premium, Expert Assist in three levels, a Full Service tier, a Desktop product and local offices. Every one of those is built around the US federal and state return, which is the first thing to know before comparing anything.
That shapes who looks for an alternative. A US taxpayer has no European option, because ELSTER, the Swiss cantonal portals and UK Self Assessment are separate systems with separate forms. The people who search for a TurboTax alternative from Europe are mostly residents who found TurboTax by name, or who file in Germany, Switzerland or the UK and want software from a company in their own legal area.
The pages Intuit publishes also show how much surrounds the return itself. Refund Advance loans are issued by WebBank and facilitated by Intuit Financing Inc., and money movement is provided by Intuit Payments Inc. A buyer who only wants a form filled in correctly may prefer a vendor whose product page is mostly about the return.
- The contracting parties are American companies According to its own footer, TurboTax sits inside Intuit Inc., and the financial add-ons name further US entities: Intuit Payments Inc. for money movement and Intuit Financing Inc. for loans issued by WebBank. For a European resident the contract partner is therefore a US group. Each European tool on this page names a German, Swiss or British company with an imprint or company number instead.
- The product is built for a tax system you do not file in The TurboTax menu speaks of federal e-filing, W-4 withholding calculators, an amend-a-return page and Expert offices in New York, Costa Mesa and Chicago. None of that maps onto a German Einkommensteuererklaerung, a Swiss cantonal return or a Self Assessment. A tool made for the local system knows the local deductions and sends the return through the local channel.
- Loans and advances sit next to the filing flow TurboTax promotes Refund Advance and File Now, Pay Later, and the footer explains that the latter needs a Router Account opened in your name with an FDIC insured bank. The notices are the vendor's own. Buyers who dislike credit products near a tax form can choose tools whose price is a flat fee or a fee taken at submission, such as smartsteuer or SteuerFuchs.
- Expert help comes as a tier, not as a free choice TurboTax separates Expert Assist from Full Service and sells each as its own product line. On the European side the adviser question is answered differently: Taxfix and Taxando add an adviser on top of a self-service return, while Taxfix UK and Simpletax hand the whole job to an accountant or staff member. The shape of the help varies more than the TurboTax tier list suggests.
What you have to replace, not just match
Replacing TurboTax with a European tool means replacing the filing channel, not only the interface. In Germany the return travels through ELSTER, and WISO Steuer, Steuerbot, SteuerFuchs and the others transmit through that interface. In Switzerland the return belongs to a canton, so eTax and Simpletax depend on which canton you live in. In the UK the channel is Self Assessment, handled by Taxfix UK.
You also replace the supporting data. Prior-year figures in a TurboTax account do not move into WISO Steuer or smartsteuer, because the forms and field names differ. eTax imports prior-year data from its own earlier returns, and smartsteuer can pull income, expenses and receipts from Lexware Office, but nothing here reads a TurboTax export.
The last piece is the human layer. If you used Expert Assist or Full Service, decide whether you want an adviser again. Taxfix, Taxando, Taxfix UK and Simpletax cover that need; eTax, SteuerFuchs, SteuerGo and Lohnsteuer kompakt are self-service on the pages we read, so moving to them removes the expert option altogether.
The alternatives compared
| Position | Tool | Headquarters | Pricing | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | eTax | Baar, Switzerland | CHF 0.- per year for taxpayers (etax.ch pricing section) | Switzerland (adequacy decision, outside the EEA) |
| #2 | WISO Steuer | Neunkirchen (Siegerland), Germany | Trial EUR 0.00; yearly plan EUR 39.99; single purchase EUR 49.99 (buhl.de/wiso-steuer) | EU (Germany) |
| #3 | Steuerbot | Fellbach, Germany | Refund calculation free; EUR 39.99 to file; optional pay later after the tax assessment arrives (steuerbot.com/kosten) | EU (Germany) |
| #4 | smartsteuer | Hannover, Germany | EUR 39.99, paid at submission (smartsteuer.de/online) | EU (Germany) |
| #5 | Taxando | Potsdam, Germany | Standard from EUR 39.99 (EUR 59.99 if refund over EUR 522); Premium 19% of refund, minimum EUR 99, nothing upfront; Business Standard EUR 89.90; Business Premium from EUR 219 | EU (Germany) |
| #6 | SteuerFuchs | Berlin, Germany | Advice and data entry free and anonymous; submission EUR 19.95 via ELSTER (steuerfuchs.de) | EU (Germany) |
| #7 | Taxfix | Berlin, Germany | Not shown on the pages we read; Expert fee depends on the refund (percentage fee per the terms) | EU (Germany) |
| #8 | wundertax | Berlin, Germany | Free to start; pay on submission; price not shown on the pages we read | EU (Germany) |
| #9 | SteuerGo | Berlin, Germany | Free test, pay at submission; price list not read (pricing page not found) | EU (Germany) |
| #10 | Lohnsteuer kompakt | Berlin, Germany | Free test, pay at submission; price list not read (pricing page not found) | EU (Germany) |
| #11 | Taxfix UK | London, United Kingdom | Starting from GBP 99 for new customers (home page, with conditions marked by an asterisk) | United Kingdom (adequacy decision, outside the EEA) |
| #12 | Simpletax | Dübendorf, Switzerland | Not shown on the pages we read (price page returned not found) | Switzerland (adequacy decision, outside the EEA) |
How each alternative compares to TurboTax
Best for: Swiss taxpayers in canton Zurich who want a free self-service return with Swiss data storage.
eTax is the only tool on this page that states a price of CHF 0.- per year, covering the check assistant, prior-year import, online submission and support. TurboTax sells a Free Edition too, but its tier list climbs through Deluxe, Premium and Expert products. eTax has no tier ladder on the pages we read.
Ringler Informatik AG, the operator in Baar, says it launched Swiss tax return software in 1986 and holds ISO 27001:2022. Return data sits with Everyware AG in Switzerland. The TurboTax pages we read name no data centre, so eTax is the more specific of the two on hosting.
What eTax does better than TurboTax
- States a zero price for taxpayers instead of a tier ladder
- Names its Swiss data centre operator
- Imports prior-year data into the next return
- Covers Swiss cantonal returns, which TurboTax does not
Where eTax is a step down from TurboTax
- etax.ch itself serves only canton Zurich from tax period 2025
- No paid expert review, unlike Expert Assist or Full Service
- AI receipt reading is still marked coming soon
Standout against TurboTax. eTax pairs a stated CHF 0.- price with an ISO 27001:2022 certified operator and Swiss storage.
Best for: German taxpayers who want to try every function before paying a flat fee.
WISO Steuer is made by Buhl Data Service GmbH in Neunkirchen and lists three offers: a trial at EUR 0.00, a yearly plan at EUR 39.99 and a single purchase at EUR 49.99. Anyone moving from TurboTax Do It Yourself will notice that the price list is short and that all functions are open during the trial.
The product includes an AI adviser called SteuerGPT, tax coaching and an error check, and the company says more than 6 million people use it. There is no tier where a tax adviser files for you, so a former Expert Assist or Full Service user loses that option. The yearly plan also has to be cancelled.
What WISO Steuer does better than TurboTax
- Free trial with every function before paying
- Short public price list with two paid options
- Servers at the company site in Germany
- Data transmission recognised under section 87c AO
Where WISO Steuer is a step down from TurboTax
- No expert-prepared filing tier
- German returns only
- Yearly plan must be cancelled to stop it
Standout against TurboTax. WISO Steuer lets you test every function for EUR 0.00 and states your obligation to pay only at filing.
Best for: German employees with a simple return who answer questions on a phone.
Steuerbot asks questions in a chat, calculates the refund for free and charges EUR 39.99 to file. The comparison with TurboTax is about order of events: you see the number first and decide on payment afterwards, while TurboTax places its own choice of tier before you start.
A pay-later option moves the fee to after the tax assessment arrives, at an individual offer. Steuerbot GmbH in Fellbach names its Stuttgart register entry and two managing directors, yet the hosting location is not stated on the pages we read. Self-employed forms are not listed either.
What Steuerbot does better than TurboTax
- Shows the refund before asking for payment
- Pay-later option tied to the tax assessment
- Apps on iOS, Android, macOS, Windows and web
- Support reply promised within 24 hours
Where Steuerbot is a step down from TurboTax
- Pay-later price is an individual offer, not a public one
- No self-employed forms listed
- Hosting location not stated
Standout against TurboTax. Steuerbot postpones the fee until after the tax assessment if you choose its pay-later option.
Best for: German freelancers and employees who keep their books in Lexware Office.
smartsteuer GmbH in Hannover charges EUR 39.99 at submission and lets you start for free with a live refund calculation. Against TurboTax this is a flat model: one named price, one payment point, no product ladder. The smartCheck review runs before the return goes to the tax office.
The Lexware Office transfer of income, expenses and receipts is a concrete advantage if you already use that accounting product. The catch is ownership: smartsteuer is majority-held by Haufe-Lexware, part of the Haufe Group. It also lists no human adviser filing option, and the EUR 1,432 average refund on its home page is marked with an asterisk.
What smartsteuer does better than TurboTax
- One listed price paid only at submission
- Imports data from Lexware Office
- Names SysEleven GmbH as hosting processor
- Review step before filing
Where smartsteuer is a step down from TurboTax
- No adviser who files for you
- Owned by a larger business-software group
- German returns only
Standout against TurboTax. smartsteuer is the one tool here that takes income and receipt data directly from Lexware Office.
Best for: Germans who want an adviser available without paying anything upfront.
Taxando GmbH in Potsdam lists four packages. Standard starts at EUR 39.99 and rises to EUR 59.99 when the expected refund exceeds EUR 522. Premium costs nothing upfront and takes 19% of the refund with a minimum of EUR 99. This resembles the Expert Assist idea but replaces a fixed fee with a percentage.
Business Standard at EUR 89.90 adds an income statement and VAT return, and Business Premium from EUR 219 adds adviser support for complex cases. The privacy policy lists Google Analytics, Google reCAPTCHA and Meta Pixel, so tracking involves US providers even though the app backend runs at Hetzner in Gunzenhausen.
What Taxando does better than TurboTax
- Adviser tier with no upfront payment
- Business packages for self-employed people
- Final price shown in the app before submission
- App backend hosted at a German provider
Where Taxando is a step down from TurboTax
- Standard price depends on the refund size
- Premium takes 19% of the refund, minimum EUR 99
- Privacy policy lists Google and Meta tracking
Standout against TurboTax. Taxando is the only tool here where the adviser is paid out of the refund rather than in advance.
Best for: German employees with a standard return who want the lowest listed fee.
SteuerFuchs charges EUR 19.95 to send the return through ELSTER with a digital signature, while advice, data entry and optimisation are free and anonymous. That makes it the cheapest number on this page, and it needs no installation: a normal browser on a PC, Mac, iPad or phone is enough.
The trade is polish. Hartwerk Digitalmedien-Integrations-GmbH in Berlin has run the browser product since 2002, but support is by email only, there is no app or AI helper, and no expert tier appears on the pages we read. TurboTax users who like guidance and review options will find less here.
What SteuerFuchs does better than TurboTax
- Lowest stated filing fee, EUR 19.95
- Free and anonymous advice before registering
- No installation or licence needed
- Product on the market since 2002
Where SteuerFuchs is a step down from TurboTax
- Email-only support
- No app, AI helper or expert option
- Data location not stated
Standout against TurboTax. SteuerFuchs lets you enter and optimise a whole return anonymously before any account exists.
Best for: Germans who want to hand the return to an adviser from inside an app.
Taxfix SE in Berlin offers Basic, where you build the return step by step, and Expert, where independent tax advisers prepare it. The home page marks the adviser route as the recommended one. That two-level structure is the nearest European parallel to the split between TurboTax self-service and Expert tiers.
Taxfix states that more than 10 million returns have been submitted and added a self-employed edition, plus versions for expats, the UK and Spain. Prices are not shown on the pages we read, the Expert fee depends on the refund, and the imprint says Taxfix will not take part in consumer arbitration.
What Taxfix does better than TurboTax
- Adviser-prepared route inside the same app
- Self-employed edition
- Imprint with register number and managing directors
- Versions for expats, UK and Spain
Where Taxfix is a step down from TurboTax
- Prices not shown on the pages we read
- Expert fee grows with the refund
- Declines consumer arbitration
Standout against TurboTax. Taxfix is the one tool here that sells both a self-service plan and an independent-adviser plan in one app.
Best for: German students, expats, civil servants and pensioners who want a tailored form.
wundertax GmbH in Berlin gives students, expats, police, military staff, pensioners, employees and the self-employed their own question paths. The home page says a return takes 17 minutes and counts more than one million customers. TurboTax groups users by product tier, wundertax groups them by life situation.
You start free and pay on submission, with terms stating that prices include VAT, but the figure is not shown on the pages we read. The terms also say wundertax gives no tax advice, the English imprint names study clever GmbH as provider, and the privacy policy lists a debt collection partner.
What wundertax does better than TurboTax
- Dedicated paths for police, military, students and expats
- Servers stated to be in Germany
- Subprocessors named in the privacy policy
- Terms state prices include VAT
Where wundertax is a step down from TurboTax
- Price not shown on the pages we read
- No tax advice offered
- Provider name differs between English and German imprint
Standout against TurboTax. wundertax writes separate questions for police and military staff, a group generic tax software rarely addresses.
Best for: Residents in Germany who read Polish, Romanian, Russian or English better than German.
SteuerGo, built by forium GmbH in Berlin, runs in German, English, Polish, Romanian and Russian. It uses IntelliScan to read receipts with AI and assign them, and offers an anonymous test before registration. TurboTax in this respect is a single-country product, while SteuerGo serves people living in Germany who file in another language.
The home page claims 3.6 million users. The pricing page we requested returned not found, so the fee is unknown. The privacy policy lists Cloudflare and Google, Meta and Microsoft services with US destinations, so the stated German data centres do not cover every part of the site.
What SteuerGo does better than TurboTax
- Interface in five languages
- IntelliScan receipt recognition
- Anonymous test without registration
- Servers stated to be in German data centres
Where SteuerGo is a step down from TurboTax
- Price not shown on the pages we read
- No adviser option listed
- US-based services in the privacy policy
Standout against TurboTax. SteuerGo is the only tool here with a Polish, Romanian and Russian interface for German returns.
Best for: German employees who value an outside recommendation and German hosting.
Lohnsteuer kompakt is another forium GmbH product, so it shares its operator and a good part of its text with SteuerGo. The home page states a Finanztip recommendation dated April 2026, more than 42,000 reviews at Trusted Shops and hosting in Germany. Those are vendor-quoted claims, not figures we measured.
The promise is a return in 25 minutes with IntelliScan receipt capture and data import, plus pages for students, police officers and pensioners. No price table is visible, and no expert filing tier is listed. Treat the choice between this and SteuerGo as one of brand and interface.
What Lohnsteuer kompakt does better than TurboTax
- Home page states hosting in Germany
- Anonymous free test
- Pages for students, police officers and pensioners
- Names its operator with a register entry
Where Lohnsteuer kompakt is a step down from TurboTax
- Price not shown on the pages we read
- Not independent of SteuerGo
- No expert filing tier
Standout against TurboTax. Lohnsteuer kompakt is the only tool here that cites a Finanztip recommendation on its pages.
Best for: UK taxpayers who prefer to have an accountant file their Self Assessment return.
Taxfix UK, operated by Positron Technologies Ltd in London and formerly known as TaxScouts, has a UK accountant handle each Self Assessment return. This matches the Full Service end of the TurboTax range rather than Do It Yourself, and the site shows no self-service software tier.
The home page quotes GBP 99 for new customers, with conditions marked by an asterisk, and the terms describe pay-in-advance and pay-later options. Services also cover company tax returns, bookkeeping and Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. The pages do not say whether the UK company belongs to Taxfix SE in Berlin.
What Taxfix UK does better than TurboTax
- A named UK accountant prepares the return
- Covers landlords, expats and company directors
- Company number and addresses published
- Offers Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
Where Taxfix UK is a step down from TurboTax
- Not a do-it-yourself product
- GBP 99 applies to new customers with conditions
- Ownership link to Taxfix SE not stated
Standout against TurboTax. Taxfix UK is the only tool here that files UK Self Assessment, and a UK accountant does it.
Best for: Swiss residents in Zurich or Aargau who want someone else to fill in the return.
Simpletax GmbH in Dübendorf runs 10 locations in the cantons of Zurich and Aargau where clients drop off tax documents, and it also takes uploads and post. Staff fill in the return. TurboTax Local Tax Office locations are the closest US parallel, but Simpletax is built around this in-person model rather than adding it.
The FAQ states that all data sits on Swiss servers, while the privacy policy names Hetzner Online GmbH for website hosting. Payment can be made in cash, by card or TWINT. Simpletax does not represent clients before the tax office or file objections, and no prices appear on the pages we read.
What Simpletax does better than TurboTax
- Staff fill in the return from your documents
- Ten locations in Zurich and Aargau
- Swiss servers stated in the FAQ
- Pays in cash, by card or TWINT
Where Simpletax is a step down from TurboTax
- Prices not shown on the pages we read
- No representation before the tax office
- Not a self-service tool
Standout against TurboTax. Simpletax is the only tool here where you can hand paper documents to staff at a local office.
What actually breaks when you switch
The first thing that breaks is continuity. A TurboTax account holds past US returns, and none of the European tools import them. If you move your tax residence to Germany, Switzerland or the UK, you start the new return from your payslips and receipts, and you keep old US returns yourself in case the IRS asks for them.
The second break is the authentication layer. German tools send the return through ELSTER, and SteuerFuchs says it adds a digital signature. Swiss tools tie you to a cantonal portal. Check each vendor's page for the login or registration it expects, and do that before the deadline week.
Can a European tax app file a US return for me?
No tool on this page files a US federal or state return. The apps here work with ELSTER in Germany, Swiss cantonal portals and UK Self Assessment. If you owe tax to the United States, TurboTax or another US product stays necessary for that return.
The European tools matter when your tax residence is in Germany, Switzerland or the UK. Taxfix links versions for expats in Germany, the UK and Spain, and wundertax has an expat path, but both describe returns to a European tax office, not to the IRS.
Which tool replaces the TurboTax expert tiers?
Taxfix is the closest match in structure. Basic is self-service, Expert lets independent advisers prepare the return, and the Taxfix terms say the Expert fee depends on the refund. Taxando offers a similar split with a Premium package at 19% of the refund and a minimum of EUR 99.
For a fully done-for-you route, Taxfix UK has a UK accountant file the Self Assessment return, and Simpletax staff fill in Swiss returns from your documents. Simpletax does not represent clients before the tax office, which is a real gap compared with a Full Service promise.
Which one to pick
Pick by country first. For Germany, WISO Steuer suits people who want a free trial and a flat price, SteuerFuchs the lowest stated fee, Steuerbot a phone-first chat, and smartsteuer people who use Lexware Office. For Switzerland, eTax in canton Zurich is free, and Simpletax is the hands-off option.
Pick by help second. Taxfix and Taxando both offer an adviser inside the app, Taxfix UK files UK returns through an accountant, and wundertax and SteuerGo suit special groups or non-German speakers. If you must file a US federal return, none of these apply and TurboTax stays the necessary tool.
Frequently Asked Questions
By country: WISO Steuer for German returns with a free trial, eTax for a free Swiss return in canton Zurich, and Taxfix UK for UK Self Assessment filed by an accountant. By lowest stated fee, SteuerFuchs at EUR 19.95. No European tool replaces TurboTax for a US federal return.
eTax states CHF 0.- per year for taxpayers. Steuerbot, WISO Steuer, smartsteuer, wundertax, SteuerGo and Lohnsteuer kompakt let you start without paying and charge at submission or when you buy. Only eTax lists a zero price for the complete filing.
It varies. eTax names Everyware AG in Switzerland and smartsteuer names SysEleven GmbH. WISO Steuer says own servers in Germany, and wundertax, SteuerGo and Lohnsteuer kompakt say Germany. Steuerbot, SteuerFuchs, Taxfix and Taxfix UK do not state a location on the pages we read.
Taxando lists Business Standard at EUR 89.90 with an income statement and VAT return, and Business Premium from EUR 219. Taxfix added a self-employed edition and wundertax has a self-employed path. Taxfix UK files Self Assessment for landlords and company directors as well.
Mostly yes. WISO Steuer has a trial at EUR 0.00, Steuerbot calculates the refund free, SteuerGo and Lohnsteuer kompakt offer an anonymous test, and SteuerFuchs gives anonymous advice before the EUR 19.95 filing fee. Taxfix UK and Simpletax sell a service instead of a trial.
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