Why pay for Turbo Tax or its competitors when, odds are, you can get it for free?
Unless you like burning money.
Seventy percent of American taxpayers qualify for free tax software.
If your income was $62,000 last year or less, you can use commercial tax filing software for free through the IRS FreeFile program.
Software is free, filing the return is free, and direct deposit of your refund is free.
Did I mention it was free?
Filing state tax returns
Some twenty states participate in the FreeFile, too. Find your state from this map.
California, where I live, hasn’t joined FreeFile, but has its own, free on line tax filing service.
Need tax help?
If you have trouble doing your taxes on your own, there’s free help with your return, too.
Trained volunteers help those with low incomes, disabilities or limited English through VITA, Volunteers Income Tax Assistance. Find a VITA site near you.
AARP also runs free tax assistance programs for low to moderate income tax payers called Tax Counseling for the Elderly. They’re everywhere, too.
And then there’s the United Way’s EarnItKeepItSaveIt tax help program. Free tax help, focused on helping low income individuals and families claim the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Through the EITC you can not only get a refund of the taxes you’ve paid during the year, but get an additional credit, payable in cash, depending on the composition of your family.
Find a Bay Area EarnItKeepItSaveIt program
Don’t burn money: get help and maybe even a refund on your taxes.
Image: taxrebate.org.uk
