Stock Markets Exposed
What are the differences between e-filing on the IRS website and tax software like Turbotax?
I've tried filing income tax via the IRS website for many years; it has been free. My friend uses Turbotax. My question is how could tax softwares benefit me? Why do people spend a lot of money for these softwares? p.s. Mine is simple. I do not own any property, but invests in stocks.
Public Comments
- The answer, in a word is ignorance. I say that because I bought really expensive software [drake], It was EXTREMELY difficult to work with and in some cases impossible. E.g: I could not explain to a client how the Child and Dependent Care credit was arrived at on the printout. Not all the lines were filled out!! I had to do it myself so I could show the client how the figure came to be on his taxes!! Your friend could use Turbotax, Taxact or Taxbrain online rather than spending money at the store. Ignore the advertising and eFile on the Federal only which is free . Then go to your State website. You can find it in any search engine. You type in your State along with "department of taxation". E.g, I typed in California Department of Taxation on altavista and "California Franchise Tax Board" came up. That's the government body that collects income tax {and I believe all taxes} for the State of California. For Ohio, type in the same and you will get the Ohio dept of revenue. I say all of that because I do not know a single State that charges on their website. So you can eFile the State return for free. If the IRS accepts your return, you should get your State back in 5 business days and your Federal in 10-15 business days depending upon how late in the season. I tried Tax-Act. It is slow, but you can do the Schedule A, B and D. That means you can do stocks and also any interest, dividends and cap gains your mutual funds paid. Good luck.
