Join the online tax-prep bandwagon
Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, reported recently that sales of its online tax software products are up 20 percent over 2009, while sales of its desktop products have stalled. Doing taxes online clearly has caught on with the public.
The online option has advantages. For one, it can be less expensive than buying the download or the CD, when those options are available. You’ll only save over those options, however, if you’re just using the program for one tax return. If you plan to use it for your child or your sister or any other person, you’re better off buying a CD or using the download, since those versions support up to five forms. In contrast, you only can use the online version for one return.
Even if you decide not to prepare your taxes online, check out our article, “How to save money on tax prep” for a rundown of some nifty online tools to make those hours of calculations less—well, taxing.
You can easily find coupons to save a few additional bucks on online tax-prep. Just type in “tax prep coupon” into a search engine and see what comes up. You can take advantage of a number of free online tax-prep opportunities, as well; H&R Block At Home, TurboTax, and TaxACT are three well-known names that all offer a version of free federal tax-prep software online. Also check out the IRS’s FreeFile page, which offers both free guided tax prep, generally for folks with household adjusted gross income of $57,000 or less; and a free unguided “fillable form” for anyone, regardless of income.
Consumer Reports Tax Information Guide has lots more advice on electronic tax preparation and on saving money with deductions, credits, exclusions and other tax breaks.
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