Save Money and Time Doing Your Taxes Online

It is that time of year again, tax time. While no one seems to enjoy filling out their income tax return, everyone wants to eliminate at least some of the pain.

Before the economy hit the skids many taxpayers opted to pay someone else to do their taxes for them. Then all they had to do was the really painful part: writing the check.

Each year more and more people turn to the computer to help them complete their tax return and now that is only accelerated by the desire to cut back on expenses. Naturally I field a lot of questions as to which tax preparation software I recommend.

Let me first mention that there are two basic ways to do your taxes on your computer. First, you can buy some tax preparation software that you install on your computer either via download or a CD. This has been a very popular method for about 20 years now.

Second, you can now securely prepare, print and efile your taxes completely online with any computer, an internet browser, and an internet connection. This is especially attractive for individuals with only one tax return to complete in the household and few tax complications. Regardless of the complexity of your tax return, though, doing your taxes online is now a viable option for almost everyone.

Many people do not realize it, but the U.S. Government actually started a program called FreeFile. With the FreeFile program the government asked tax preparation software companies to partner with them to provide most taxpayers the opportunity to prepare, print and efile their federal income tax return at no cost.

FreeFile is a great way to do your taxes online and get your refund in as little as 10 days via direct deposit.

The online tax preparation software paired with the FreeFile program use a simple interview process where you answer simple questions about your income and expenses. The software puts the answers in all of the right places on the right forms and makes all of the calculations for you.

Doing your income taxes this way can actually get you a larger refund as well. Since you just answer questions, you do not have to decide which forms to use, the software chooses the right ones for you and will ask additional questions if it appears you qualify for a certain deduction; possibly a tax deduction you had never even heard of!

In a similar fashion, the online tax software will skip questions that do not pertain to your tax situation based on the questions already asked. This prevents you from having to read and skip over what does not apply.

While not everyone qualifies for a free tax return online, the companies participating in the FreeFile program will still help you with your tax return. If your return is more complex than allowed in the free program, you will be offered another low cost option that will take care of you. Naturally, this is how the company hopes to cover their cost of the FreeFile program, but the costs are reasonable.

Doing your own taxes on a computer is a better option than ever before. Now with FreeFile it might not even cost you a cent.

Check out the websites listed in the resource box for more information on FreeFile and a chance to get your taxes done online quickly, easily and with the biggest refund guaranteed.