 |
| Photobucket/seblackburn |
Online Sites Offering E-file Taxes and Anticipated Refund Loans
Tax
season has officially arrived and the question of the day is: Where is free tax
return help? There are many places to seek help, including the IRS.
Free tax return help is on the way. It is not only available, but also a great marketing campaign for all the top tax preparers across the Internet. What a great way to get business to the website. For instance TurboTax is offering free tax return preparation on the simple 1040ez and the 1040.
Where to Find Free Tax Return Help
Many sites are competing now, but none can compete with the IRS on giving a free e-file or rapid tax filing for anyone who makes less than $57,000 a year in income. Free File Fillable Forms also offers a free e-file for those who need to file a 1040, 1040ez, 1040A.
For those who simply want to do it on their own, they can contact the IRS and order up to ten forms. The forms will be mailed within a ten day period to the taxpayer. There is also a way to download the forms for free by contacting the IRS here. The top three companies for online tax help are TurboTax, H & R Block and TaxACT. They all have
Free Tax Help for People from Volunteers
- VITA or Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program is run by the IRS. Free help is available for those who make less than $49,000 per year in income. Call 1-800-829-1040 to locate a nearby site.
- TCE or Tax Counseling for the Elderly also offers free help for people with low to moderate incomes. The telephone number for TCE is 1-888-227-7669. This is part of the AARP program.
- AFTCor the Armed Forces Tax Council offers free tax help for the military also. There are offices both overseas and in the USA. This program helps the military of all the branches to receive their refund through direct deposit in one week. To locate the local office of the AFTC call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040.
Which Online Sites Offer Free E-file for Taxes
All the sites that offer free tax return help will offer free e-file taxes. The main ones are H & R Block, TurboTax, TaxACT and the IRS. By contacting the IRS, they will give a list of all companies cooperating in their e-file program. It is easy to find many other free e-file sites by just searching through Google or Yahoo. The benefit of e-file is that the refund is processed quickly. Most refunds can be expected within a ten day period.
Applying for an Anticipated Tax Return Loan
Millions of taxpayers will apply for an anticipated tax return loan this year. It is a fairly simple process, but one that may cost between 200-2000% in interest calculated as an APR. Many firms are quoting average rates between $225-264% though. Besides paying for the online taxes to be filed, the taxpayer must pay for an application fee and interest on this usually very short loan.
The taxpayer simply applies for the loan and receives the money in 2-3 business days from the bank issuing the loan. Then the bank issuing the loan will receive their money back from the IRS usually within ten days to pay the loan off. The interest fees and application cost are deducted from the loan.
There are many places that handle these loans, such as TurboTax and H & R Block. When asked why taxpayers would pay such high interest rates, a spokesman for H & R Block said, "impatience."
Resources
"Free tax preparation for you by volunteers," .irs.gov
freefilefillableforms.org
Phillips Ebr, Kelly (January 20, 2010) "Free Tax Assistance Available in Many Forms," walletpop.com
