1. Turbo Tax Free Edition
You probably already know that if you make a lot of money or have complicated taxes you won’t be able to file your taxes for free. Usually, for people with high incomes or a lot of assets, it makes sense, and it’s worth it, to pay someone to do your taxes. That said, for some people, filing your taxes is simplistic, consisting of plugging numbers in the right spaces.
Turbo Tax Free Edition is a good option for people in this situation. You can download the program at www.turbotax.com. If you’re worried about avoiding tax debt, there are plenty of programs that can help you that you can purchase from Turbo Tax. There is also a free online from H&R Block at www.hrblock.com.
2. IRS Free File
This program is a partnership between the IRS and private tax-preparation companies. You can only file for free if you made less than $ 57,000 for 2009. This is only for filing your federal tax return, so if the state you reside in has an income tax, you need to file those separately. The IRS free file page is located at www.irs.gov/efile.
IRS Free File lets you use tax software with help on every step. You can also file the tax forms online without tax software, after completing the forms yourself.
3. TaxAct Free Federal
This program is actually the one I used last year. There is an option on TaxAct for filing state taxes as well, making it easier for people who have to file both and don’t have complex taxes. TaxAct is very simple to use and quicker than any other method I’ve used.
TaxAct is located at the painfully obvious web address of www.taxact.com, as if they were trying to hide anything. One of the benefits of e-filing taxes is that it gets your return back to you quicker, if you get one, and they indeed have direct deposit.
