Comments on: IRS Claims At Least 70% of Taxpayers Can E-File For Free

By: Ask the taxgirl: Tax Help for Those Over 55 | taxgirl

Ask the taxgirl: Tax Help for Those Over 55 | taxgirl — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 21:48:05 +0000

[...] went to the website that you referred to for free e-file. Why is it that the free e-file websites have a 55 year age limit and gross income cap of $56,000. [...]

By: Gary C.

Gary C. — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 01:21:08 +0000

1. You need to understand these services are off any Federal (IRS) website. You enter all your most valuable information, soc. numbers, incomes,investments,etc. to 3rd party web sites. If you feel comfortable sending all your most valuable information to unknown web servers,unknown people,non IRS types,who are able to peek at all your information — For Free–,before its sent to IRS…your choice.
2. IRS needs to set up so the taxpayer does not have to pay anyone to file taxes. We deserve to have an IRS secure site to file our income tax returns . Its supposedly a mandatory function imposed on us by the Federal Government, and taxpayers should not have to pay to file. For taxpayers its just more lost income. What an abomination for us. Good for tax filing business’s though.
3. If you can’t tell,I believe the ways we have to file our returns,and ensure were not going to get in trouble, is very unfair. It should not cost a cent extra to get it done. Any way you chose to do,mail or online should not cost anyone. What happened to our Republic?

By: Kelly

Kelly — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:20:06 +0000

Vinny,

1, That’s what I get for trying out my college level Spanish on the blog… Google translate suggests “tres empresas tienen la capacidad de hacerlo en español.”

2, Hmm, that’s interesting. I’ll have to check it out. I wonder what kind of compatibility issues there are…

3, It’s my understanding that any official vendor (of the 20 listed with IRS) that does not include a specific limit or other restrictions is held to the $56,000 limit.

By: Vinny

Vinny — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:25:30 +0000

1. I’m no Spanish scholar, but I think “empresas” would be more acceptable, if not easier to pronounce, than “compañías” (I mean, you almost have to force your tongue through your hard palate and into your nasal cavity to pronounce an “ñ” followed by a close vowel).

2. I like the fillable forms addition this year – perfect for us cheap do-it-yourselfers. But, I have yet to be able to register successfully, despite trying several different browsers on both Mac and PC platforms. Also, while most of the commonly used forms are available right now, some common forms will not be available for another month yet. Hopefully this project will really sprout legs – some states are already offering a similar service.

3. On the IRS page, the Tax$imple entry doesn’t mention an AGI limit. However, the company’s website indicates a maximum AGI of $56,000 for the free service.

Personally, I’m sticking with TaxACT for this year. Maybe I’ll try the fillable forms option next year if things are less complicated (moving, multiple states, various credits).