It’s the time of year to think about working on your taxes. I just started looking into mine and like any other year, it’s going to be “fun”. Oh Joy. But I expect it to be more “fun” for us this year, given that our small business projects are now our dominant sources of income and deductions, and will take center stage in our tax accounting.
Free Online Tax Filing, Tax Preparation Services & Software Programs
I’ve discovered a ton of online sites that promise to help you out with your tax questions, issues and filing. But I thought to share those particular services and products here that offered a little extra if you decide to try them out. For free tax filing and/or tax preparation, here are some sites and services with deals and offers that you may want to check out:
1. TurboTax
I wrote a bit about this tax program in my TurboTax review, and I’m also keeping an eye out for TurboTax discounts as and when they come along. They actually offer an Online Free Federal Edition which allows you to prepare a 1040EZ or other simple return. They also allow free e-filing through all their other services (Basic, Deluxe, Premier and Home & Business).
Note that state tax filing requires an additional fee. For more information, check out the TurboTax site.
2. H&R Block At Home
Instead of a free online service, you may be more interested in a free software program. I’m talking about a free copy of H&R Block At Home Deluxe Edition (formerly TaxCut). Well you can get this software program for free this February if you decide to sign up with an ID theft protection and credit monitoring service. By enrolling in the Lifelock Identity Theft Protection Service, you’ll receive a copy of H&R Block At Home Deluxe Edition (regularly priced at $44.95).
Now what about H&R Block’s online services? Just like TurboTax, they’ve got a free online version of H&R Block At Home for basic tax situations. I discuss their offerings in more detail in my H&R Block Tax Services article.
3. FreeTaxUSA.com
You can complete your tax return pretty quickly and for free by using FreeTaxUSA.com’s site. Here’s what they offer for free on their site:
- Federal Tax Return
- e-File
- Printing
- Instant Status Notification
- Account Information Roll-over
- Customer Support
- Extension Filing
- Refund Direct Deposit
- Deduction & Credit Maximizer
- Online Backup of Completed Returns
When you use e-file and direct deposit, you can expect to receive your return in 8 days, while the filing process shouldn’t take too long (they claim that you can finish your return in as little as 30 minutes). And like with many of the online services out there, FreeTaxUSA will be saving your information so that you can access and reference this data at any point in the future. A deluxe version of this service is also available for $5.95. But filing your state return will cost $9.95.
4. CompleteTax
CompleteTax is another online tax site that aims to help you out during tax season; it has the usual slew of services lined up that range from their Free Edition to their Premium Edition. So what do you get for free? The Free Edition will address the following:
- 1040EZ Federal form only
- Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
- Single, and Married Filing Jointly filing status
- No children or dependents
In order to file for free, your requirements have to fit what’s described above. There are additional fees for auto-importing any tax data from previous years and for extra help or consultation. Their other services are priced as such: Basic (for $9.95), Deluxe (for $29.95) and Premium ($49.95).
5.TaxAct.com
Then there’s TaxAct, which also lets you prepare, print and e-file your tax returns for free. They’ve got some similar services as the other sites on this list, but I’ve noted that they also include free phone, email and audit support. If you’d like to check them out, you can visit this link.
If your tax situation is fairly simple or easy, then you can get away with free filing and preparation. Otherwise, you should decide whether to invest in a more sophisticated software program or service, or to just go with a tax professional (although our resident tax expert, who wrote the piece “How To File Taxes For Less“, strongly suggests that you do your own taxes so that you can save big).
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Nice list, but I couldn’t believe I didn’t see TaxAct on there! I’ve been using TaxAct for the last 3 or 4 years now (including two years spent overseas!) and I have always felt like it was worth more than I paid, which has usually been around $13-17 to cover state filing costs and phone support. If you haven’t looked into it yet, please do!
You’re right…. I made the necessary updates to the list. Thanks for the feedback!
I’m a huge turbo tax fan… it is killer!
I too am a user and big fan of TurboTax. Did you happen to see if any of the others have anything like the It’s Deductible software?
You can also use FreeFile which is a partnership between the IRS and Free File Alliance, they allow you to file for free online but you must have made $57K or less to use it. Also, you may qualify for myfreetaxes.com which is sponsored by Wal-Mart and Beehive, their goal is to help low income taxpayers file Federal and State taxes (they offer online and in person services).
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