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Cheapest Way to File Your Income Tax
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Easily File Your Income Taxes and Save Hundreds -- As we near the “dreaded” tax season, many consumers are tightening their belts in preparation for the exorbitant costs associated with tax filing. Sadly, while many consumers may be due for a tax return, a large portion of these funds will be eaten by the fees of hiring an accountant, CPA, or tax professional. Most taxpayers do not realize how easy, convenient, and truly inexpensive it is for you to file your own taxes with the assistance of powerful tax preparation software, such as TurboTax.
Secrets the tax industry keeps from taxpayers
What the tax industry does not want you to know is that it is very EASY for you to file your own taxes! Once you gather your documents together, filing your income taxes with a convenient software program, such as Turbo Tax, is easy and time effective. Save hundreds on filing fees by simply completing your income tax return yourself – conveniently and quickly with free or very affordable TurboTax software. The savings are drastic compared to retail tax locations and CPAs:
H&R Block sued for unfair pricing practices: In March of 2006, the New York Attorney General slapped a lawsuit on H&R Block for its unscrupulous business practices. Although it may appear that the costs at H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt only run $90 - $130 for the filing, all of their electronic filing costs, check cashing expenses, and the interest associated with their Refund Anticipation Loans can triple the cost – meaning that you eventually pay $270 to $390!
CPA filings can charge you $200 to $800: Hiring a CPA to complete your tax return can cost $200 to $400, even for a very simple income tax filing. However, if you have transactions, such as investments, home sales, and business deductions, these filing costs can easily rise over $500, hitting more than $800 if you have many stock trades.
Even part-time, home based tax preparers can charge $150: Without any accounting or CPA certification, a part-time tax preparer who operates out of their home can cost you $150 for a simple tax return. In addition, you are paying these fees without any guarantee of their knowledge of deductions and tax laws.
Easy software, such as TurboTax, can be free or very inexpensive: For an easy filing, you can obtain free TurboTax software. For tax returns that are slightly more complicated, with investments, real estate transactions, and children deductibles, the software is only $30 – and you obtain professional support for any questions you may have.
Significant benefits of filing your taxes with software
There are several financially-savvy benefits associated with filing your own taxes through Turbo Tax’s powerful software:
Complimentary software for 100% free filings: For simple returns and 1040EZ, Turbo Tax offers FREE software, allowing you to keep 100% of your hard-earned federal income tax returns in your pocket. With the Turbo Tax software, you can even send in your federal eFile tax return completely free.
Affordable professional packages save you hundreds: Depending upon your specific needs, such as your investment income or home sales, Turbo Tax software is incredibly affordable, starting at $29.95 and ranging to $90 for the most complex returns. Compare this low cost to hiring an accountant to file your easy income taxes – by empowering yourself, you can literally save hundreds in your tax filing, leaving more money for you and your family to enjoy.
Maximize your returns: There are over 350 deductions that may benefit your tax return. With Turbo Tax software, you are guaranteed the biggest refund – meaning that the powerful software checks for every deduction you qualify for to ensure that none of your tax benefits are missing.
Automated W2 information collection: Without having to gather together all of your W2 information, you can easily allow TurboTax to collect your income information from over 100,000 companies and many prominent financial institutions. By simply utilizing TurboTax to obtain your W2 information, you have essentially completed half of your tax return.
Minimize your reporting errors: Powerful TurboTax software guarantees that your filings are completed accurately and correctly, even double-checking your returns for any errors. In addition, an incredibly robust resource of the software is its ability to gauge your audit-risk, helping you determine whether or not your income tax return has common audit red flags.
Empower yourself: Easily and quickly file your own taxes
Filing your own income tax return is easy – and in fact, with TurboTax’s powerful deductions software program, you may qualify for even larger returns. According to the IRS, millions of taxpayers are annually paying more taxes than they should, simply because they did not take into account qualified deductions. Review the top five most underutilized tax deductions – and calculate how much TurboTax can save you this year in catching all of these deduction benefits:
- Sales tax: If your state does not have income tax, then the sales tax you have paid can make for a very large deduction. There are many items that you purchase that can qualify for this deduction, such as motor vehicles and home building materials. For those taxpayers in states that do have income tax, then you will have the option of choosing your deductions between your income tax and sales tax, with the former typically more beneficial.
- Charitable donations: Although most taxpayers remember to deduct their large charitable donations, many do not realize that there are other deductions you can take, such as your out-of-pocket expenses. For example, if you baked cookies for your daughter’s school fundraiser, then those costs can be deducted. Or, if you helped send out letters for your church’s annual fundraiser, then you can deduct the costs of the stamps. All of these out-of-pocket expenses add up to a nice deduction for you at the end of the year.
- Moving expenses: If you need to move to your first job’s location, then you can deduct all of your moving expenses if you moved more than 50 miles away – including an extra $.20 per mile if you drive your car to your new home. In fact, you do not even need to itemize to obtain this nice deduction.
- Parents who pay for their child’s student loans: New tax law changes allow parents and children to both obtain a tax benefit when mom and dad pay back the interest on a student loan.
- Credit for childcare: Considering that credits are more beneficial than deductions, it is important to ensure that you are capitalizing upon all of the credits for which you qualify. If you use the maximum $5,000 qualifying expense through a childcare work reimbursement plan, but you actually spend beyond that, then you can ask for a credit for the difference above $5,000. Credits add up quickly – for example, if you spent an extra $1,000 over the $5,000 work plan, then you are entitled to a $200 benefit on your taxes.
Despite all of the hundreds of dollars consumers pay to have “tax professionals” file their tax returns, most people lose out on valuable deductions that can add up to thousands of dollars. This year, be a smart taxpayer: use easy, convenient, and inexpensive TurboTax software and take advantage of the tax deductions and credits the government offers. Your savings account will thank you.
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