online tax question

[c note]

Hey all

This year I am going to try to file my taxes online. Was curious on how safe this was to do. If any of you had good/bad experiences with completing your taxes this way. I know there is turbotax but was not sure if there were amy other good places to file online. About what is the cost of this process. I saw that turbotax is around 20-30 dollars. All opinions are apreciated.

Thanks again

 

[S-Love]

many Americans can file for free this year electronically; go to IRS.gov and follow through on the e-file links; depending on your status you can file free through one of their partner sites.

Worked great for me- had my return in 2 weeks

 

[BahamaMama]

i've used turbotax the past 2 years and absolutely LOVE it.

(even last year when i had to pay to prepare my taxes via turbotax thought it was great....this year when it was free, it was even better....LOL)

best advice i can give you is to start out at IRS.GOV and to click on their link for online free filing...... the various online filing sites have all sorts of different rules for free file. some you need to make under 30K, others you need to make over 50K, some are based on age.....just shop around

 

[BahamaMama]

LOL S-Love......looks like we were thinking about the same thing at the same time

 

[theGibber1]

filed my taxes online the last 3yrs..

i love it.. i get my return back in a week

 

[Iminforabuck]

I filed mine online this year for the first time.

Used Taxact.com Cost less than 20 bucks to file both federal and state. They make it pretty easy too.

 

[TAZ]

I have used TurboTax for about 5 years, used Tax Cut this year. No comparison, spend the extra $5 and get Turbo Tax. The "interview" is much harder to follow on Tax Cut, it also does not always keep your corrections so you end up going through the error check several times. Just my Opinion but for $25 vs $20 Turbo Tax wins.
Both companies give you rebates for purchasing their state filing and a free e-filing and even throw in money management software (Quicken for Turbo Tax, and Money for Tax Cut), so net difference is truly only $5.
I usually file last week of January and always get both State and Fed back by Valentines day. I file about 6 a year, never a problem.
Hope that helps.

 

[Blazer]

I filed via turbo tax for 2 years until I bought and sold real estate. I use an individual that my wife's family has used for years. He knows "little tricks" and "hidden deductions" that the online service cannot provide. I'm not talking about cheating, just getting everything you can legally.

For example: If you drive on your job and are not paid for it you can deduct something like 34.5 cents per mile traveled. You may deduct any uniform you must purchase to wear on your job. Little things like these payed for his service threefold.

 

[TAZ]

That is a good comment Blazer. None of the online products can replace a human being. Both of the products I have used, and I am assuming the others, will make a reference to deductions such as you noted (unreimbursed employee expenses) but it is easy to pass them up if you do not know what to expect. These products work best for somewhat vanilla tax situations, if yours does not fall into that group it would be wise to contact someone that can help.