OT: Anywhere I can go to file my taxes online for free?

[LionsFan10]

Any websites people use and trust to take care of their taxes online? Preferably free, but I'll spend a little money if absolutely necessary.

[miked]

I think you can use the IRS website for free, but I'm not sure. I use Quicken's TurboTax, but I make very little and always get a refund with the basics. It's like $29.95 or something, I forget, but they do a decent job.

[GrantDawg]

Turbotax does an excellent job. My taxes are tricky, and I wouldn't trust a free site. If your taxes are simple (ie. no deductions) then you can do it with pen and paper and file it through the IRS.

[GrantDawg]

BTW, IRS does have a "free file" program, but it is down right now.

[Ironhead]

I filed my girlfriend's taxes though Turbotax last year. It turned out to be a nightmare, but it was probably more the IRS' fault that Turbotax.

Even though we filed her married but separate, her tax payment ended up being applied to her husband's taxes. It took us about 4 or 5 months to finally get that straightened out, and then just a few weeks ago we received ANOTHER letter from the IRS telling us that we still needed to pay the money. It turns out that when the IRS was transfered the funds around they created a dummy SSN for my girlfriend to temporarily put her tax payment in. They forgot to delete this imaginary account and then they started knocking on our door months later to collect for an imaginary person.

[GrantDawg]

I filed my girlfriend's taxes though Turbotax last year. It turned out to be a nightmare, but it was probably more the IRS' fault that Turbotax.

Even though we filed her married but separate, her tax payment ended up being applied to her husband's taxes. It took us about 4 or 5 months to finally get that straightened out, and then just a few weeks ago we received ANOTHER letter from the IRS telling us that we still needed to pay the money. It turns out that when the IRS was transfered the funds around they created a dummy SSN for my girlfriend to temporarily put her tax payment in. They forgot to delete this imaginary account and then they started knocking on our door months later to collect for an imaginary person.
Yeah, that sounds like an IRS problem.

[Ragone]

turbotax puts spyware on your computer! at least it did last year.. i'd go with taxcut software

[Franklinnoble]

I used to do my own taxes.

I got an accountant last year. He was more than worth it. I will never do my own taxes again.

[Masked]

In the past, you could use the web based Turbotax program for free if your income was below a certain amount (two years ago it was aroun 25K). However, they don't advertise it heavily and you have to look around their website to find the info. I think the promotion was called "tax freedom".

[bryce]

Last year I used TaxAct for free. Free download, free federal e-filing (I think there was a nominal charge for state filings, but I'm in Texas, so I didn't have to deal with it, so I could be wrong.) It's very similar to TurboTax, which I had used in years past until I found out about the spyware they utilize.

http://taxact.com/

[GrantDawg]

turbotax puts spyware on your computer! at least it did last year.. i'd go with taxcut software
I heard that, but I have never found evidence of it on my computer. I just did my taxes last weekend and ran three different spy busting programs. Nothing.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I heard that, but I have never found evidence of it on my computer. I just did my taxes last weekend and ran three different spy busting programs. Nothing.

Check to see if you have a folder named "Cdilla" or (possibly) "Safecast".
If not, then you're probably fine.

It appears that the 2002 & possibly some 2003 versions of the program were the ones troubled with this particular bit of "security feature" / spyware, depending upon your point of view.

Latest reviews/reports I can find on 2004 indicate the spyware issue is gone but that some quirky bugs are popping up with the Deluxe version.

[GrantDawg]

Check to see if you have a folder named "Cdilla" or (possibly) "Safecast".
If not, then you're probably fine.

It appears that the 2002 & possibly some 2003 versions of the program were the ones troubled with this particular bit of "security feature" / spyware, depending upon your point of view.

Latest reviews/reports I can find on 2004 indicate the spyware issue is gone but that some quirky bugs are popping up with the Deluxe version.
I used the online edition. That would explain the "no spyware" issue.

[Dutch]

I switched from TurboTax (2002) to TaxCut (2003) and they both do the same thing. I switched because of the spyware thing. Was it just a myth? If it was, I might suspect TaxCut started it and would switch back to TurboTax.

In any event...

$9.95 for the software
$19.95 for the State Software

$15.95 to electronically file.
$11.95 for Simple Pay (I'm not sure what the difference between these two are).

So to file quick, easy and painless?

Roughly 60 bucks (+ whatever it costs to file my state taxes which I can't until my federal tax return is accepted).

[PilotMan]

I have filed with TT for the web for 4 years and have had great success with it. My taxes have ranged for easy to moderately difficult, but the easy to use fuctionality of it as well as organization of it is too good to pass up.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Dutch -- from what I could find last night, it wasn't purely a myth. TurboTax was indeed using some questionable (as in "it had a bad track record') stuff for security purposes. Sorta along the lines of that d'loadable game security thingy that raises hackles around here (the name escapes me at the moment). Shut down your CD-RW, disabled devices, that sort of crap.

Apparently, the mass exodus of consumers and the bad press combined to convince them to undo what they'd done. They offered an uninstaller and future editions stopped using that method. At this point, best I could tell last night at least, going back to TurboTax was basically a matter of "do I trust Intuit not to try to screw me over again"?

[Ksyrup]

I've used TT online for the past 4 years. Works well. They remember my info from year to year, and I was even able to import my W-2 the past 2 years. Quick and painless.