Tax Filing Options & Tips Round-Up
It’s that time of year again! 😐 Tax Day (April 18th) will be here before you know it, so here’s a round-up of a few current tax filing and preparation packages that you may want to take advantage of. Also feel free to share your favorite method and any tips that you may have learned throughout the years!
Current Tax Filing Options:
* TurboTax is allowing users to file Federal (1040A or 1040 EZ) AND State tax returns completely FREE with the TurboTax Federal Free Edition. Plus, they’re offering 20% off TurboTax Online Federal products. To get started, head over here where you’ll be able to prepare, print and electronically file your Federal AND State tax returns for FREE! Plus, TurboTax is the #1 best selling tax software and is rated A+ with the Better Business Bureau!
* Head on over here where you can file completely FREE with H&R Block (and save 40% off other tax-preparation packages – Thanks, Natasha!). It is FREE to prepare, FREE to print, FREE to e-file, includes FREE live tax advice, FREE in-person audit support, representation from an enrolled agent, and 100% Accuracy Guarantee and Maximum Refund Guarantee. And, they have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau!
* Consider using FreeTaxUSA.com (Rated A+ with the Better Business Bureau!) to e-file directly to the IRS completely FREE. You can choose to do a FREE Federal e-file OR score the Deluxe Edition for $5.95. This site has also been highly recommended by Hip2Save readers in the past!
* Head over here to sign up for a FREE Federal + FREE State edition of TaxACT (you’ll be able to prepare, print and electronically file your federal tax return for free). Plus, they’re rated A+ with the Better Business Bureau!
* You may also consider using e-Smart Tax by Liberty Tax to e-file completely free. E-Smart Tax technology ensures you get your highest possible refund as well as simple step-by-step Q&A preparation, Zero hidden fees, Online or in-person help with more than 4,000 Liberty Tax offices open year round and more!
More Tax-Filing Tips:
* Head over to IRS.gov to file your federal taxes for free
* Check the daily deal sites… Groupon has offered up significantly reduced vouchers for online tax preparation products in the past and will likely have similar offers over the next few months.
* Check with your local college. One reader reported that the accounting students at her local college will do her tax returns for free and they are then reviewed by the professor to ensure that they are correct.
* AARP Foundation Tax-Aide offers free help for older taxpayers and people with limited incomes. Find an AARP Foundation Tax-Aide site in your community by clicking here.
* If you are in the military, check out Military One Source for more information about different resources that are available.
* Families that earned less than $54,000 in 2015, persons with disabilities, the elderly and limited English speaking taxpayers may qualify for assistance through the VITA Program. IRS-certified volunteers provide free basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing to qualified individuals. Find a VITA Volunteer site in your community by clicking here.
Just used the free Turbo tax edition tonight. Worked great. Super easy, fast and free!!!
Me two! Super easy!
Awesome! Thanks so much for your feedback! Glad to hear it!
We have used Turbo Tax for many years and have had always had good experiences with it. I read a review of tax preparation products recently and Turbo Tax was rated as the easiest and most reliable to use.
Sweet! Thanks for sharing Deb!
Is there an ebates offer for turbotax?
Didn’t turbo tax get hacked last year? Or am I thinking of a different company?
Yes it did
If you end up finding a tax accountant that gets you a better return or a lower tax bill then you can redo the last two years to get money back
I thought you had to be under a certain income to use the free sites–anyone know?
$62,000, but if you’re over that it’s still cheap, like $10 for federal & $12 for state. It tells you the price before you begin. Some states are not included, just check the list before you begin. (They’re listed on the home page of the preparer you choose).
Thanks Susie
What do you recommend for someone who has itemized deductions (from having a house) turbo tax was $35 for this, are there any others out there less expensive but still reliable
Go to irs.gov. they have free file options and it lists the companies that do it free for different scenarios
Tax act is $14.99 for Plus which says it is ideal for itemized returns. I like tax act and have used them the past 2 years.
I LOVE TaxAct! I have used them for about the past 4 years. It saves your info every year and imports it all to the new year. I think i did my taxes in about an hour… The “free” versions are for only simple returns. Some people complain that it is harder to use but u think it is very user friendly… The only bad thing is since im so fast now all my family has me do theres because our local CPA is over $100!
Free? Whats the catch? Why are they selling these for almost 50bucks at target?
Honestly. They disburse your tax so if you’re due a refund then they make interest $ by holding it in a bank a few days before disbursing it to you. I wouldn’t be surprised if the government paid them for having them have x amount of people file. That one’s just a theory though. 😉
What bank has a good enough interest rate to earn money on interest in a few days? I’d like to transfer all my savings there.
If it’s compounded daily over millions of $ it adds up.
Just bought TurboTax Deluxe from Costco on sale for $30. What’s the difference between this and the free version??
Turbo tax deluxe saves your past years tax info. I had to pay for it because I’m buying a house and they needed one of my past years returns and for some reason I forgot to save it. I know it is needed also for certain deductions and credits like it you own a house.
Thanks, Amanda!
The free version of Turbo Tax saves your past efiles. I have all of mine available for the past 10+ years. Not that I need them for anything, but they’re there!
I used the free version of H&R Block and had no problems. (I still had to pay, but it was easy! 🙂
You can use Turbo Tax Freedom edition if your military and your AGI is less than $62,000.
Turbo tax charged my husband as an army e6, so I went through mil one source and used hr block for free 🙂
Go to irs dot gov as suggested above. Free is relative depending on your income, which programs you wish to use and which forms you might need in order to file. The income limits for filing free are different for each tax program–some include state filing and some do not.
Thanks for your review Jon! Good to know!
Anyone here has LLC with S corp election? If do, any option to file online using one of the software? Accountant is very expensive.
Not sure why on earth you would have an LLC with an S corp election ( we never recommend that ), but if you try to do it yourself then you will need one of the business editions. But honestly you are better off paying a CPA with this set up. An S corp is one of the most complicated forms of entities out there and really easy to mess up and become a C corp. Shop around and find a retired one who just wants to do a few returns seasonally. Sorry just my 2 cents as a Tax CPA with 24 years (OMG!) in the biz.
I’m a little surprised that people are saying they already filed their taxes. We have not even received half of the forms on interest and income that we need before we file.
Me either! Supposed to be mailed out by end of January but last year we didn’t get some forms until April! 🙁
I was able to get everything online now.
Me too…
As I understand it, the free products are only for simple returns. Which is mainly for young people that don’t own much of anything. If you itemize instead of taking the regular deduction, then you have to use the deluxe version. I switched to h & r block from Turbo tax last year, because TT suddenly changed which things were included in their deluxe version. Just about everyone I know switched because of that.
We file a 1040a and itemize plus pay state taxes and turbo tax is way cheaper than h&r block. Like $70 vs $300.
I use tax act. It costs about $20-25 to file federal and state. We have investments so we can’t use the free version.
To save I buy a the turbo tax disc on eBay in March. I prefer the disc as my personal info is saved on my computer rather than on a server in cyber space. I know that’s not a solid reason but makes me feel better
That is an extremely solid reason!
If you e-file your information goes online anyways. Also chances are your bank/employer/etc uses electronic transmission. Your info is vulnerable no matter where you safe your tax info
I’ve used freetaxusa.com for the past 3 years and it’s been great!
We have used freetaxusa for the past 3 years with no issues as well.
We just moved from Oregon to Washington and were planning to get our taxes done bc we moved states, bought a house etc etc BUT we just heard that in WA you don’t have to be certified or receive training to do taxes…does anyone know anything about this?
@Kelsey. This may have changed but as I recall only 4 states-California, Oregon, Maryland and NY have requirements of licensing to prepare taxes–this of course is not the case with a CPA.
Just use turbo tax. They walk you through all that.
Actually in NO state do you have to be certified or receive any training. It’s one of the things the IRS is fighting for. That’s why students at colleges can do returns. However if you don’t want a CPA which is a licensed & credentialed professional, look for either an EA which is an Enrolled Agent or someone who has passed the IRS’ annual competency exam. the IRS has a directory on their website. Go to IRS.treasury.gov/rpo/rpo.jsd
Okay thanks ladies! I’m pretty young, so I’ve only done my taxes a handful of times. Sometimes we have gotten them done at H&R (and I was under the impression they received training) but usually we do them ourselves. Very interesting and informative! Thank you for your replies.
In our area, a lot of senior centers have days where senior citizens can have their taxes filed by professionals for free. I think it is a program through AARP and they’ll have free time slots that they can sign-up for.
By the way Collin – Tax Day this year in not April 15th…… It’s April 18th due to a holiday in DC. Believe me, us professionals are not lovin the IRS for losing another weekend….. :-€
Whoops! Thanks for letting me know!
Military can use military one source for free tax filing through HR block.
I use Tax Act..used it for 10 years and never had a problemI even can do 6 more returns so I usually do my moms and my sisters for no additional fee.
Can anyone give me some advice on the 1095 form. My husband is a veteran and we got a letter that they are now required to file one for 1095b. I also heard that he will also have one through his employer. He is a city employee and we have insurance through his job so I assume he will get either the 1095b or the 1095c. Some sites say you don’t have to wait for it, others say you have to have it handy. Some say you may not even get one! So stressful!
This one qualifies as a “I wish I could NOT answer it”, but… 🙂 (It’s a long answer, to try to explain what’s going on, so bear with me! I made it as simple as possible, I promise!)
1 Per the IRS (https://www.irs.gov/Affordable-Care-Act/Questions-and-Answers-about-Health-Care-Information-Forms-for-Individuals, it’s #3), you do NOT have to have 1095-B or 1095-C to file your returns. HOWEVER, an individual CPA and/or preparer CAN require you to have it, since they have to sign off on your return. Because it’s the first year, 1095s do not have to be to you until March 31. (Note: If you’re on the marketplace, you DO need to wait for 1095-A, before filing.)
2. 1095 reporting has 2 components: 1. Who was covered? 2. Was coverage OFFERED affordable (even if you didn’t take it)? Question 2 is ALWAYS answered on 1095-C and provided by your employer. Question 1 is dependent on your coverage. If your company is self-insured, the bottom of 1095-C lets your employer say who was covered. If your insurance is through a third party insurance provider, the insurance provider sends you a 1095-B saying who was covered and when. Question 1 is pretty straight forward, and you probably know it. It boils down to: Was your family covered by some type of insurance all year? If you were covered all year, that’s all you need to worry about. Your 1095-B will confirm that. (or the bottom half of your 1095-C, depending on your coverage type) 1095-C is what has everyone stressing out. Long story short, the calculations your company is doing in the back ground involves assessing the OFFERED (not accepted, just offered) types of coverage, to determine if, based on your personal salary, the offered coverage for EMPLOYEE ONLY is considered “affordable”. (Yeah…fun…Did I mention I wish I didn’t know about this?) What you really care about is the who was covered/when question. If you had coverage all year, you won’t pay a penalty, and that’s the big issue for 2015. (If you didn’t, I would recommend consulting a tax advisor who can help determine if you qualify for an exemption.) Honestly, I’m not really sure what happens if the coverage you were offered is deemed to be “not affordable” on an individual level. There’s a threshold that as long as premiums fall below, you’re automatically considered affordable, so as a benefit, my company took that option, and I didn’t pay close enough attention after that. My head hurt too bad once I got to that point! LOL
Hope that helps!
I just filed our taxes last night. If you have private insurance (not through the Affordable Healthcare government Act) you don’t really need the paper. 1095B proves you have insurance but I didn’t need the paper to get through the questions. If you have form 1095A you might have to type something in. So unless you get audited the paper doesn’t have any information to plug in.
You don’t need to use the 1095B. We don’t have insurance through the Affordable Care Act. And the paper was not needed. I’m keeping it in case an audit would happen. But it wasn’t needed to file.
Don’t forget United Way’s http://www.myfreetaxes.com! If you made under $54,000 you can do your taxes entirely free on several websites. I was able to do mine through H&R Block and got the second most expensive program free. That includes Fed and State, free assistance and protection if the IRS audits you.
Thanks so much!
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!!!
Oh and its $62,000 nit what I said above. Refund back tomorrow! Yay!
Over the weekend, i found a deal on tax software at Staples– TurboTax deluxe for $39.85 and Quicken for $29.99, both price matched from Amazon. They are then offering an Easy Rebate of $40 wyb both= $29.84 for both softwares!! Too good to pass up, especially since I usually budget $40 for just TurboTax!
I pay a CPA $50. I take him all the crap I get in the mail, receipts, etc and he does it. It’s a beautiful thing, lol
The local CPA here is a lot cheaper than the normal tax places if you have a complicated return and don’t know how to do it yourself. A couple of years ago mine was very complicated, the CPA charged $35 and a ton of forms had to be filled out. I was so surprised, given the fact a simple return at our local H&R Block or Jackson Hewitt is a couple hundred dollars.
Hey Collin!
I wanted to thank you for mentioning about local colleges offering free tax services. I’m an Accounting student who is enrolled in an applied income tax course this semester. We use the VITA program and are all IRS certified before we start taking clients.
It’s a great, free opportunity for the general public to file federal and state taxes!
I hope some of my fellow Hip2Savers will take advantage of this local service and help their community grow!
That’s awesome! You are so welcome Samantha!
Samantha, I have used the VITA program for the last two years! Great program and the students were so helpful! Will be using it again this year!
Is there a list of itemized deductions somewhere? Also, anyone know if you have to file taxes when you are retired?
Californians can file online state tax return for free. Set-up a web account with the state’s Franchise Tax Board, and fill out the information from your federal tax return.
https://www.ftb.ca.gov/.