Free tax filing: Cheap Trick Thursday
Free File is a low-cost option available to more people than ever this year. The IRS raised the maximum adjusted gross income to qualify for this service to $56,000 for 2009.
If your paychecks are a little higher than that, this year the Internal Revenue Service has come up with a way for anyone to file their taxes electronically for free, according to this Living for Less tip by Eileen.
It's called Free File Fillable Forms (someone likes their alliteration, don't they?) and lets you fill out electronic versions of the traditional paper federal returns.
The new service doesn't sound as user-friendly as Free File, but it will do some basic calculations for you, which is a plus. And did we mention it's free?
Regardless of how you submit your federal return, Maryland offers its own free way to file Maryland taxes electronically, called iFile.
Either federal option should result in your refund being direct-deposited in your bank account in as little as 10 days. With such a short turnaround, let's hope few if any people this year fall for the allure of refund anticipation loans.
These high-cost loans, formerly known as instant tax refunds, have wreak havoc on the financial health of people who wanted their returns as quickly as possible. Don't succumb!
Anyway, has anyone out there given any of these services a try? Are they worth the very low price?
Comments
iFile is great for me. Then, I have rather simple taxes. Others might have had a different experience.
Free File? Eh, it varies. Instead of a single, simple system like iFile, it's a gateway to chaos. There are dozens of private-sector vendors, not all of which are for all states, and all of which want to upsell you on something after you've numbed your mind filling in the tax forms. But on the whole, it beats paper.
The Treasury Department could do worse than developing their own system in-house, if you ask me. But there are probably powerful members of Congress with big tax preparers in their districts.
Cheap Jim, good call on all points. It *is* difficult to pick a good vendor from the Free File list, and what's with all the upselling? Do I really need a service to help me find tax savings next year? Of course not.
But as you point out, too many people make too much money filling out tax returns for the government to take that revenue stream away from private industry. Sigh. --- lfk.
Posted by: Cheap Jim | January 29, 2009 8:58 AM
iFile is MUCH easier to use this year, so there's some good news! I prepare my federal taxes using the free version of Turbo Tax, which is quite simple, and then do state taxes through the state's web site. Total time = 1 hour. Total money spent = $0!
Mary, that is a great recommendation ... and that way there's no need to guess which forms to use! --- lfk.
Posted by: Mary | January 29, 2009 5:29 PM
The free version of TurboTax only lets you file a 1040EZ. I used TurboTax to do and file my federal and state and it cost about $60 :-/
On the plus side though, I received my MD state refund via direct deposit this morning! Only four days after filing!
ericb, thanks for the heads up on that. And that's good news on the speedy delivery of your refund! Bet they're faster responding earlier in the season. --- lfk.
Posted by: ericb | January 30, 2009 7:28 AM