What is your "go-to" for free online tax filing?

[gigi]

@Mithras

I get really frustrated at the tax preparation industry. They promote the idea that taxes are really hard to do and if you don’t pay someone to do it for you, you’re going to end up losing a bunch of money. For most people, though, that’s just not true.

Actually, I’m enjoying the ads where they bring in geniuses to help users through the simplest steps on-line.

[cochrane]

I use 1040Now. Residents of most states who are under 60 and have an AGI under $62,000 can file for free. I’ve used them for the last two years and have never been charged to file my federal or state taxes. I just use the1040-EZ form and take the standard deduction, though.

ETA: It’s so simple, I file my taxes on my smartphone.

[thelurkinghorror]

@Mithras

I get really frustrated at the tax preparation industry. They promote the idea that taxes are really hard to do and if you don’t pay someone to do it for you, you’re going to end up losing a bunch of money. For most people, though, that’s just not true.

I used to prepare taxes for awhile. Believe me, there were many people who had incredibly simple taxes but wouldn’t do it themselves because of a serious phobia. I didn’t exactly shoo people away, but when prices were quoted I could let them know that there were no hidden things that they might miss doing it themselves.

[kiz]

@thelurkinghorror

I used to prepare taxes for awhile. Believe me, there were many people who had incredibly simple taxes but wouldn’t do it themselves because of a serious phobia. I didn’t exactly shoo people away, but when prices were quoted I could let them know that there were no hidden things that they might miss doing it themselves.

One of the reasons why I use a preparer is because they’ll find additional deductions I never would’ve otherwise known about/thought about. I get a nice chunk of a refund some years because of it. To me that’s worth the $ I pay for it :shrug:

And yeah, maybe Turbo Tax could find me the same deductions, but I dunno, there’s something which bothers me about filing online, even though I have used TaxAct in the past. Not sure what it is, though.

[Kimballkid]

I used H&R Block just yesterday. It changed a little from last year in that there were a couple more ‘security’ features but it wasn’t too bad. Of course I ended up filing on the day the IRS computers went on the fritz.

[thelurkinghorror]

@kiz

One of the reasons why I use a preparer is because they’ll find additional deductions I never would’ve otherwise known about/thought about. I get a nice chunk of a refund some years because of it. To me that’s worth the $ I pay for it :shrug:

I mean people who have a W2 or two, no other income, no kids, no loan interest or schooling, standard deduction, etc. and there are absolutely no hidden credits or deductions, but even then they find the entire process scary and are willing to pay.
And yeah, maybe Turbo Tax could find me the same deductions, but I dunno, there’s something which bothers me about filing online, even though I have used TaxAct in the past. Not sure what it is, though.
[/QUOTE]

You mean like privacy concerns? Pretty much every tax preparer is going to e-file now, but they use professional software.