Tax preparation is the epitome of a catch 22. If you decide to do everything on paper, you’ll end up wasting precious time on the whole process. With tax prep services, however, everything is much easier, but they come with an added cost – something that taxpayers are trying to avoid in the first place. That’s why it’s such a relief that almost all tax companies provide free versions of their programs, so that people with only simple tax situations can handle their taxes conveniently and, of course, for free.
Granted, these free solutions only give a taste of what these tax programs are capable of, but such software is known for having many faces, including the availability of various offers through which taxpayers can prepare and file tax returns without paying anything out of pocket.
If there is one thing people can’t stand it’s doing their taxes. Going through all those different documents that seem like they have been worded by aliens is pure torture for anyone. So it’s not surprising that once taxpayers find a solution that prepares their taxes and explains the process in plain English, they stick to that solution no matter what. This is the secret behind TurboTax‘s success, a company that has been helping people deal with those pesky tax returns since the 80s. TurboTax Online, the company’s online tax prep solution, provides everything that a taxpayer needs to create accurate returns. The user-friendly interface of the software is particularly important, but so too are the thorough interview questions. There are a number of additional extras, too, all of which will help you receive the biggest possible refund in the end. And this, believe it or not, is just the surface, since not only is TurboTax fully supported on mobile platforms but it’s also very safe to use thanks to the outstanding built-in and optional security settings.
If there’s only one thing that frustrates the most with tax preparation software, then perhaps it has to be the prices. The technology is certainly getting better and better with each passing year – especially since the introduction of cloud technology – but the base prices still make the eyes of millions roll in frustration. It’s not even like the free tax programs are worth using because once this method has been chosen, upgrading to a better package to prepare different forms can be quite the challenge. E-file, a company founded in 2013, is nothing like that. While it is a basic service devoid of many of the fancy extras that its competition provides, it’s definitely capable of doing exactly what it is supposed to do: creating tax return forms and filing them via a secure, user-friendly account. This doesn’t sound all that compelling at first, but add in the company’s aces in the deck – namely the unlimited nature of the program and its unbeatable prices – then E-file is indeed a service that’s worthy of your attention.
The tax prep software market is full of great solutions even if many of them are advertised as being free, a fact that taxpayers know has to be taken with a pinch of salt. In most cases, users can only make use of such tax preparation services by either only filing federal 1040EZs or by unlocking the forms they are looking for by upgrading to a paid higher-tier product. However, such hard choices have to be made with FreeTaxUSA, since the software can handle all tax forms and even allows taxpayers to file their federal tax returns without paying a single dime. But this unlimited and free nature isn’t the only reason to opt for this company. The unbeatable pricing policy is just the beginning, as FreeTaxUSA has also made sure that the tax prep process is as smooth as possible. It is a simple and logical program with an insane amount of built-in help tools and outstanding account security to boot.
Admittedly, using tax software is always free of charge, making it an effective method for calculating accurate tax refunds but unfortunately if it is then used to file those calculated returns, then only a select type of user can truly enjoy tax prep solutions completely for free. The main reason behind this is that even if innovative features like W-2 capturing with the mobile app or importing data from returns created by competing software are included by default in most products, the free versions of tax programs usually provide only the most basic features. This means that you can say goodbye to many credits and deductions, but in most cases you won’t even be able to import last year’s return from the previous edition of the program either. It’s worst for taxpayers with more complex tax situations, however, who have no choice but to opt for paid programs.
Thankfully, these complex tax situations can still usually be covered by the most basic paid products, the cost of which is around $30-$40. Still, there are certain means of using paid tax programs for free since it’s possible to deduct the prep fees from your earned tax refund. Granted, this is cheating a bit because technically whichever software you use still needs to be paid for, however this method means that in exchange for reducing the amount of expected refunds there is no out-of-pocket expenses.
While it is easy to end up being stuck with tax situations that aren’t covered by free tax software at all, there is actually an alternative plan to consider: using free tax calculators available at many of these tax companies. Although these calculators are nothing more than simplified versions of tax software – asking for only basic information like personal data, income, deductible expenses, and any credits that you’re eligible for – they still use the same thorough tax database, resulting in an accurately prepared estimation of your refunds or taxes to be paid. As a matter of fact, a tax calculator is a perfect tool for those who prefer to fill out forms manually after having them downloaded from the IRS’s website since it’ll still help them to speed the preparation process up.
It’s still worth remembering that while tax calculators are viable alternatives to paying for tax software, it’s perhaps worth the low cost of tax prep software for just the convenience. The issue with tax calculators is their biggest shortcoming, namely the fact that they are nothing more than calculators. Simply put, their only purpose is to reveal just an estimated, potential amount of refund due or tax to be paid, whereas tax software can be more accurate and can then even be used to prepare the necessary forms and then file it to the IRS with a single click.
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