So this happened to me completely by accident. 1 minute I’m calling the IRS for a W-2 issue, next thing I know the rep is telling how to file my taxes for free. Wait, what?! Taxes for free? Yeah sure, if you want.
You want to start out by hitting up the old IRS.gov & scoping out the ‘Free File‘ option. Once chosen, you’ll be given the option to pick from a set of companies offering free tax filing services.
If you can’t decide who to chose, you can take a small questionnaire (above) and you’ll be matched with the preparers most resonating with your answers. Said taxmonkeys in question are (or at least they were for me) very bountiful. Choices range from big regional to giant national contenders; I decided to go with TurboTax because I’m so familiar with them.
There are 2 small disclaimers. 1st, this is only available if you made less than $57,000 in 2009. So, the big spenders are out of luck, sadly. 2ndly, depending on who you chose for the ‘free file’, there may be a fee associated with your state of residence. As stated prior, I chose TurboTax. Because I lived in Maryland & Georgia for all of 2009, according to Turbo-T, Georgia was was free, but Maryland (had I actually made any income in that state) would’ve costs me about $15. But if you can stomach those 2 things, you’re good to go.
I hope it helps, at least someone. Happy Tax Season!
