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TaxAct Holdings, Inc.
Formerly2nd Story Software
(1998-2013)
Company typePrivate
IndustrySoftware
Founded1998; 26 years ago (1998) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States
Founders
  • Lance Dunn
  • Cammie Greif
  • Jerry McConnell
  • Alan Sperfslage
Area served
United States, Canada
Key people
Curtis Campbell (President)
OwnerCinven
Number of employees
300 (2021)
Websitetaxact.com

TaxAct Holdings, Inc. is an American tax preparation software company based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The company offers its own software package "TaxAct" to individual tax registers, companies and professional affiliates. The company was founded in 1998.

History

TaxAct Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1998 as 2nd Story Software by Lance Dunn, the former Vice President of software development at Parsons Technology. Later, Lance Dunn recruited Jerry McConnell and Alan Sperfslage as developers, and Cammie Greif as a marketer.[1][2]

In 2000, a cloud-based version of TaxAct software was released.[2] In 2004, TA Associates, a private equity firm based in Boston, acquired two-thirds of the company for $89 million.

In October 2010, H&R Block said it would pay $287.5 million in cash to acquire the parent firm of TaxAct.[3] In May 2011 the U.S. Department of Justice attempted to stop the acquisition in an antitrust lawsuit.[4][5] In November 2011, a federal judge sided with the Justice Department, and both companies mutually terminated the contract.[6][7]

In January 2012, 2nd Story Software was sold to Seattle-based Blucora (formerly Infospace, Inc.) for more than $287 million.[8][9][10] In 2013, the name was officially changed to TaxAct Holdings, Inc. Subsequently, in October of the same year, TaxAct acquired Balance Financial, the company that specializes in personal finance tools and services.[11]

In 2018, former Intuit executive Curtis Campbell was appointed as the President of the company.[12]

TaxAct is a member of the Free File Alliance, a free federal tax preparation and electronic filing program for eligible individual taxpayers developed through a partnership between the IRS and a group of private sector tax software companies.[13]

In November 2022, private equity firm Cinven agreed to acquire TaxAct for about $720 million. Cinven announced it would combine TaxAct's business with Drake Software, which it acquired the previous year, under a single holding company.[14]

Product overview

TaxAct offers tax preparation software for individuals, small businesses, and tax professionals. They offer both online and download products, and have a mobile app available for iOS and Android.

There are several online plans: Free, Deluxe, Premier, Self- Employed, Business, and Pro. TaxAct offers a free federal version for basic returns.

In March 2018 TaxAct Online Freelancer Edition was awarded the title of "The best tax software for independent contractors" by Business Insider.[15]

References

  1. ^ "2nd Story's Tax Software: A Class ACT". PC Magazine: 42. March 9, 1999. ISSN 0888-8507.
  2. ^ a b Sarah Binder (April 3, 2014). "Cedar Rapids' TaxACT went from David to Goliath". The Gazette (Cedar Rapids). Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  3. ^ Tom Taulli (October 14, 2010). "H&R Block Gets Serious About Digital with Purchase of TaxACT". AOL. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  4. ^ "U.S. Seeks Halt To H&R Block Deal for Rival". The New York Times. May 23, 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  5. ^ Justice Department Files Antitrust Lawsuit to Stop H&R Block Inc. from Buying TaxAct; Deal Would Substantially Reduce Competition in Sale of Digital Do-It-Yourself Tax Preparation Products and Result in Higher Prices and a Reduction in Innovation and Quality, Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, Press Release, May 23, 2011
  6. ^ Eileen Aj Connelly (November 15, 2011). "H&R Block drops TaxACT buy after antitrust ruling". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  7. ^ United States v. H&R Block, Inc., 2SS Holdings, Inc., and TA IX L.P., Memorandum Opinion (November 10, 2011)
  8. ^ "InfoSpace Buys Online Tax Solutions Company TaxACT For $287.5M In Cash". TechCrunch. January 9, 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  9. ^ Dave DeWitte (January 9, 2012). "InfoSpace taking new direction with TaxAct acquisition". The Gazette (Cedar Rapids). Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  10. ^ "InfoSpace to buy TaxACT for $287.5 million". The Seattle Times. January 9, 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  11. ^ John Cook (October 4, 2013). "TaxAct bolsters personal finance tools with Balance Financial buy". GeekWire. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  12. ^ Transcribers, Motley Fool (2018-10-31). "Blucora Inc (BCOR) Q3 2018 Earnings Conference Call Transcript -". The Motley Fool. Retrieved 2018-12-25.
  13. ^ Members of Free File Alliance (2011)
  14. ^ Lawler, Ryan (1 November 2022). "Cinven acquires TaxAct for $720M". Axios.
  15. ^ Kyle Schurman (March 26, 2018). "The best tax software you can buy: TurboTax, H&R Block, and TaxAct". Business Insider. Retrieved 3 April 2018.

External links

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