Comments on: 5 of the Cheapest & Best Ways to E-File your Taxes

By: Greg Hpllingsworth

Greg Hpllingsworth — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:43:10 +0000

Just a note, TaxACT Standard allows you to prepare, print and e-file your federal return for free with no restrictions on income or age. TaxACT Deluxe (which has additional support features) is $9.95 and the TaxACT Ultimate Bundle (which combines Federal & State preparation) is $16.95. If you use TaxACT Standard and need to file a state return, the cost is $13.95.

By: Shaun Connell

Shaun Connell — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 20:44:24 +0000

I’m hiring someone this year, though next year I’ll probably file for myself. ::bookmarked::

By: allen

allen — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:23:19 +0000

@G.E. Miller: Ooooo… i must be thinking of the stupid fee you pay if you want direct deposit from the IRS.

By: G.E. Miller

G.E. Miller — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:17:33 +0000

@ P. R. – Good heads up.

@ Allen – If you used a purchased version, I believe you get 5 free e-files with it, so there’s no need to go directly through the IRS site – not sure if it transfers over to a state site for free. You may want to check out your individual state’s site. My state had a listing of products that you could use.

By: allen

allen — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 07:52:34 +0000

Question:

I use the purchased version of TurboTax (due to it being easier to deal with some investments I have); Can i still use any of these services to file them free? I make under the limit. Do i just print the forms to PDF and email it to them, &c?

Sorry, taxes can be a worrying time. Thanks for any guidance up front!

-=allen

By: P.R.

P.R. — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 05:53:54 +0000

If you’ve used TurboTax free version before, they will automatically transfer last year’s data and charge you for it at the end. From what I could tell, there’s no way to avoid this data transfer, so you have to pay $15 to file if you’ve used TurboTax before.

By: G.E. Miller

G.E. Miller — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 13:18:23 +0000

@ Paul – some good tips. Just to emphasize Paul’s point, Turbotax, H&R Block, and some of the other software won’t allow you to transfer data automatically from your free federal e-file. Instead, it would have to be a manual entry based on the information you input for your federal return. I haven’t tried this method, so not sure how easy it is. How long would you say it takes, Paul?

By: James

James — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 05:18:38 +0000

Has anyone used TaxAct before? How is it?

By: Paul Williams @ Crackerjack Greenback

Paul Williams @ Crackerjack Greenback — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 04:12:17 +0000

Don’t forget that you can often file your state return for free through your state’s Dept. of Revenue (or equivalent) website.

I just finished up my tax returns using H&R Block’s TaxCut (the free-file version), and I was able to avoid the $29.95 state fee by doing it myself online through the state’s website.

It’s not that hard usually. You’ll already have the information you need to complete your state return. Just make sure you save a PDF copy of your Federal return and you’ll be set. If you can’t print to a PDF, look up CutePDF and install it.

It’s worth doing it yourself. It really doesn’t take long at all!