The IRS is now offering a Free File program for certain taxpayers. The Free File program is a partnership between the Internal Revenue Service and several tax preparation software companies (joined together as the Free File Aliance LLC). Since the debut of this program, more than 19.2 million income tax returns have been filed with the free program.
When you sign up for the free file program, you will have the choice of approximately 19 different online software programs to use to prepare and file your income tax returns. Here is the link to the Free File Program. There are also at least two companies that offer a Spanish version of Free File.
Is it really free? Yes, but you have to meet certain criteria to qualify. The taxpayer must have had an Adjusted Gross Income of $54,000 or less for 2007. This means that over 97 million taxpayers will qualify for the free file program (over 70% of taxpayers nationwide).
I know I recently wrote an article about filing your own tax returns, but I want to reiterate that just because there is access to the software does not mean you are qualified to file your own return. Check back at that article and see if there are things you should look out for to determine if you should hire a professional tax return preparer or CPA.