Online tax filing

I've been using Turbotax for six years. Don't worry about the $$ for the software, it's deductible.

The on-line payment/refund system (I've had to do both) is easy.

Just do it.

Joe

I use the TurboTax on-line filing for Federal and the State of MA site for state level. Both work fine and are pretty easy. MA's state is free.

I would stick to well established or state run sites though. Don't go to Billy-Bob's Income Tax Returns Inc.

Oh absolutely! I would never even consider a site unless it was a name I know or was a government site. I can just see the scammers jumping all over this one.

There's also the issue of putting your tax info in the internet. It's a little more serious than just giving a credit card number. I would be more relaxed about putting the info on a government site.

How much did you pay for turbo tax? My whole reason for wanting to do it my self is to avoid paying the money to H&R block. But I guess if you can deduct the cost.

I don't really want to get into all of those deductions either. I'm getting money back anyway. I've heard the more deductions you use the more likely you are to get audited. That doesn't sound like fun to me. I'm just a single guy with a job so I wouldn't have a lot of deductions anyway.

I think I paid $29 for TuurboTax and it came with a voucher for a free copy of the State software. Their on-line filing is $15.00 or so or you can use the IRS's "E-File" if you have a PIN and that's free.

You won't be able to claim the deduction for it if you don't itemize if I remember right but. It's still worth it IMO. Plus, if you are getting a refund, file electroniclly and have the refund sent straight to your bank your refund only takes a few days. I got mine in 3 days last year.

New Mexico has a site that lets you file state and federal at the same time for a short form. Possibly Idaho has the same - since you are not planning on itemizing deductions.

Oh, I love TurboTax. It costs $30 something but it's deductible, which they remind you of when you file. E-filing is easy, refunds come quickly and you can delay sending out a return if you have to pay (e. g. you go through the process and learn you have to pay. The return is not sent until you pay TurboTax, so there's nothing wrong with just diarying to yourself - you've gotta remember to do this, of course! - to pay TurboTax and send the return in on April 14th).

Another terrific feature is you can test out how much an IRA contribution helps you, and which $$ level helps you the most. So you might be interested in contributing $3,000, but you could learn that you wouldn't get much more of a deduction than if you contributed $2,000 to an IRA. If you have the discretionary income, then by all means send $3k to an IRA. But if you don't, it makes sense to know when diminishing returns start to kick in.

Intuit has a site where certain people may file for free.



Obviously, people who have complex taxes cannot use this service. I do believe though, that they get a discount on the more involved tax products. There is also a link where certain states have agreed to participate in this project. (Mass. & NY are included.)

I did my mom's taxes through the site.

http://www.taxfreedom.com/

I use TaxCut--like TurboTax, it costs $20 - $30 and includes a voucher for a free copy of the State software. I haven't used TurboTax for comparison, but TaxCut is very user friendly and guides you step-by-step through the relevant forms (included as part of the software). If you like, it will also do a comparison between the standard deduction and an itemized deduction to see which saves you more money. It is compatible with online filing, although I personally still use snail mail: the certified mail receipt is a bit of a "security blanket".