Tax Refunds & Advice

As you probably know, you can only electronically file a tax return with the IRS during a certain period of time. Fortunately, IRS servers are up and running and have been accepting electronic returns since January 16. What does this mean to you? Simply put, if you want to file electronically you can do so from here on out. This is a great way to cut back on paperwork, while also ensuring that the IRS receives everything they need.

Who can take advantage of the e-file option? This is open to three basic groups of people: those who are working with a tax professional who uses e-file, those who used a web based application, and those who have their own software. Do you fit into one of these groups? If not, you don’t have to worry. You can join them easily enough. After all, it is not impossible to purchase tax preparation software or to rely on a professional who uses this option.

Now that the IRS is open for e-filing you need to get your paperwork together. You may need to wait a few more weeks to ensure that you have all the proper documents, but when the time comes you should be ready to move forward. Even though filing electronically allows you to do so with speed this does not mean you should wait until the last possible minute.

Remember, the IRS is now open to accepting electronic tax returns. If you have everything you need and want to get this over and done with you can get started today. There is no denying that millions of Americans will take advantage of e-filing once again this year. Are you going to be one of them?

Both H&R Block and Intuit are making big changes when it comes to their federal tax return desktop software. Intuit, the creator of TurboTax software, and H&R Block were charging customers fees for electronically filing federal returns. To make things worse, those using these services thought that they were doing so for free.

Although the IRS does not require companies to offer e-filing for free, it has become a hot topic of discussion as of late. There is a chance that in the future the IRS will have to offer individual taxpayers a way to file their electronic return free of cost. This legislation was introduced in the Senate in early 2007 and made its way to the House in 2008. Although a decision has yet to be made, there is a good chance that this will change in the near future.

Intuit never charged fees for the online version of their software, but did do so for those using the desktop version. In fiscal year 2008, Intuit sold more than seven million copies of their popular TurboTax software.

On the other side of the story, there are some companies that have never charged e-filing fees. For example, eztaxrefunds.com has been a major player in this industry for a long time but has never charged similar fees. As you can imagine, more and more taxpayers would have moved towards other options had they known they were being charged excess fees.

Although H&R Block and Intuit have finally decided to cut out all e-filing fees, there is a good chance that duping customers in the past will come back to harm them in years to come.

What is e-file?

Efile means paperless tax returns! With IRS efile, you can efile your income tax return electronically with the Internal Revenue Service instead of printing out IRS tax forms and then mailing them in.

Benefits of IRS e-file

1. Get a faster income tax refund.

With IRS e-file, you receive confirmation within 48 hours that the IRS has received your federal income tax return.
You can get your tax refund in half the time it takes a printed tax return to be processed.

2. Reduce chances of human error.

With e-filing, your information is directly entered into the Internal Revenue Service system.
Less than 1% of e-file tax returns contain errors, compared with up to 20% for printed IRS forms.

3. Save tax return preparation time.

E-file your state taxes at the same time you e-file your federal taxes.
There is no additional work — the tool you use to prepare your taxes can easily transfer data from your federal tax return to your state tax return.

4. Delay your payment to the Internal Revenue Service.

If you owe money, you can efile your tax return now and wait until as late as April 17th to pay the taxes you owe.

5. Trust that your tax return information is secure.

IRS e-file is safe and secure.
Your tax return information is transmitted directly to the IRS with e-file.

How do I e-file?
1. First, prepare your income taxes.

Use an online tax preparation service to get tax help and answers for all your tax questions about filing taxes online. This service should be an authorized e-file provider, such as EZTaxRefunds.com .
The option to e-file taxes is usually included with most online tax preparation services.

2. Once your tax preparation is done, select to efile your tax return directly to the IRS and to your state.