Ready to do your taxes? Here's how to do them for FREE!
By Lynn
@lynnwrites (148)
United States
January 14, 2020 1:25pm CST
Tax programs like TurboTax are convenient, but holy moly do they like to charge you for everything when you use them. You pay for the product, then you might have to upgrade if you're filing anything but the most basic form, and if that's not enough you could end up paying for a state product and then have to pay for the privilege of transmitting your returns, too.
Yikes.
What they don't tell you is that the IRS offers a Free File program that can let you do all of that for free if you qualify. They've partnered with a handful of different companies to offer free federal and state tax returns through commercial services if you meet certain criteria. Even if you don't qualify for those programs, the IRS offers Free File Fillable Forms that let you do the federal return for free.
The IRS has a page on their site that explains more about the program and links to lookup tools that you can use to find programs that fit your needs. You can get started today if you have at least some of your tax documents on hand, since Free File is already open. 
File for an extension of time to file for free using Free File tax software.
3 people like this
3 responses
@lynnwrites (148)
• United States
16 Jan 20
That sounds a lot more convenient! I wish we had a similar option available to us here.
1 person likes this
@mrki444 (15150)
• Croatia (Hrvatska)
17 Jan 20
@lynnwrites But problem is you often can't control it. It so complicated it is hard to calculate all things if you don't understand it well.
1 person likes this
@lynnwrites (148)
• United States
18 Jan 20
@mrki444 It sure is. I've done it by hand a few times and it's a tedious process.
1 person likes this
@lynnwrites (148)
• United States
16 Jan 20
It definitely does! Buying the software to do it yourself is supposed to be cheaper than paying a professional to help prepare your taxes, but all those little charges add up quickly.
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39515)
• United States
15 Jan 20
this 'tis true, but oddly the state 'f new mexico's no such service 't seems. thus ya either gotta transfer all yer info from yer federal manually to paper 'r jest purchase those other folks software.
i dread tax season this year. we'd way too many hiccups durin' 2019 to make such pleasant. i'd e'en thought 'f handin' the mess to'n accountant, lol.
@crazyhorseladycx (39515)
• United States
16 Jan 20
@lynnwrites perhaps they've changed such this tax season? i dunno, i 'lways file the federal electronically 'n the state paper. i refuse to pay their fee, lol.
'tis true, then 'gain those folks tend to rake ya o'er the coals. my son'd h&r block do his a few years back. simple form, no dependents, itemizin', etc. they charged him $135!! i nearly fainted. highway robbery fer less'n 5 minutes 'f their time. needless to say, i do all 'f the families now that i'm physically able to do such 'gain.
the tax system 'tis so hosed. 'nstead 'f addin' new schtuff (loopholes...), they need to jest wipe all that out'n start 'new. then 'gain, big corps, like insurance companies, 'd then not be gettin' billions'n refunds when they ne'er paid a dime, eh? crookedness from the top down..
1 person likes this
@lynnwrites (148)
• United States
16 Jan 20
Really? That's so strange. I could have sworn a friend of mine who lives there was going to be able to file hers through the Free File program through TurboTax.
Sometimes handing it off to an accountant is the lesser of the two evils. I don't know why they have to make them so darn complicated, especially when they (supposedly) know exactly what amount of tax we're supposed to be paying. 
1 person likes this
@lynnwrites (148)
• United States
16 Jan 20
@crazyhorseladycx Oh, no doubt about it!
What really ticks me off (besides the way they all charge an arm and a leg for the tax preparation services) is how they've started making people claiming certain credits wait longer to get their refunds. They say it's to prevent fraud, but let's face it... there's way more fraud and corruption at the top than low- and moderate-income taxpayers could dream of committing.
1 person likes this
