All of us who work to sustain a living often worry about lengthy tax forms every year. Be it some full-time employee who has to deal with just one form 1040 or any gig worker (or freelancer) who has to file a couple of 1099s forms, a faster way of paying taxes to the government is by doing it online.
On the official website of the IRS (Internal Revenue Service), you can find a detailed layout of all the directions that might prove helpful to easily figure out a way to pay taxes, get refunds, send payments, or report any issues with the taxes via the e-filing method.
How to file your taxes online?
On the Internet, you can find a bunch of ways through which you can file your taxes online. The good thing about this is that you don’t have to go through an extensive process, and you get to do it from the comfort of your home. Let’s understand this further.
When the adjusted gross total income, which can be found online at point number 7 in the form 1940 (as was last year), is either equal to or less than $69,000, then one can file taxes for free via the IRS’s website. On the official site of the IRS, you can find a couple of third-party services, too, which you can use to compile and then file the taxes at no added fee. Here, it is your responsibility to ensure that the third party is in no way trying to scam you and is extorting more tax from you.
On the other hand, if you have an annual income above $69,000, the fillable form can be used here as well. However, the only problem is that in this, you do not get any software support, and consequently, the state taxes cannot be done via this method. Moreover, if you are not equipped at the e-filing of taxes, you’ll probably need to e-file using either of the software solutions available online or look for a tax professional who can perform the deed for you. If you choose to get your tax filing done by a professional, do ensure that the chosen professional is authorized for the same. You can review the same on the website of the IRS.
How to pay taxes online?
With the IRS, there are a multitude of ways to pay taxes online. For those taxpayers using the e-file method, you will have to give access to the IRS to take out funds directly via your linked bank account. It is done using the e-funds withdrawal when you file the tax. Additionally, the Direct Pay method can also be used to pull out funds from your checking or savings account. Lastly, a debit or a credit card can also be used for paying the taxes online through your mobile phone, desktop, or laptop. In this case, there might be a small fee applicable because the IRS is not going to intervene in what the credit card issuing company is asking you to pay for this service.
How to get a refund?
The primary reason why the IRS encourages the online filing of taxes is that it helps you avail your refund quicker. Usually, you can receive a refund in fewer than 3 weeks. After filing an online return, you can check your refund status online. For more convenience, you can even download the mobile application of the IRS to check the status of the return and refund whenever you wish to. You can also use the application to pay and file taxes, and to avail any other information.
Ways to e-file your income tax
Today, there’s not one thing that you cannot do online. So, something as complicated as tax filing can also be done from the comfort of your home with just your computer and a stable internet connection. In today’s time, e-filing is no more a choice. It has become a necessity for every citizen, which is why we have come up with some effective softwares and sites to help you in filing your tax online. Listed below are 5 easy options.
The IRS website
Let’s start with the most authentic and official way of going about with this. Yes, we are talking about the IRS site. On the website, you can avail of a free service called Free File. It is a collaboration between the Free File Alliance and the IRS, and hence the service. It comprises a couple of companies from the private sector that develop open-source tax software.
The good thing about this is that it is a free feature that allows you to file your taxes online. Using this, you can also find out about the tax breaks that you might be eligible for. Moreover, in any case, if you are not able to file the taxes before the due date, then you can seek an extension using Free File.
TurboTax
Second on the list is TurboTax. It is again an extremely popular tool for filing tax online in the country. It has been around since the 90s, and over time, the software has only grown to be one of the most successful on-demand software for filing taxes. It covers just about everything from the state and the federal ITRs.
The user interface of the software is highly intuitive. It has been crafted in such a way that even an amateur can prepare and file tax online with ease. Furthermore, via the software, you can also get additional support, if and when needed. One downside of this software is that it can be a bit costly. However, it is worth the money spent. And yes, the users can certainly take the benefit of free income tax e-filing options, like the Form 1040EZ or 1040A.
TaxSlayer
Those taxpayers who desire to prepare and file taxes online without compromising on their budget should certainly switch to TaxSlayer. It is one of the most affordable software out there. For those of you who do not wish to involve a professional and file your returns yourself, there’s nothing better than TaxSlayer for helping you with the task.
The biggest advantage of TaxSlayer is that it even supports the most common IRS forms, like W-2. So, on TaxSlayer, you can directly import your W-2 from your payroll provider. TaxSlayer’s pricing is divided into three categories, depending on the different client requirements. Similar to TurboTax, in TaxSlayer, too, the free plan is meant for the taxpayers who have to file Form 1040EZ or 1040A. In the classic plan, you avail of the support on the basic IRS forms. In the premium plan, you’ll get additional support, including other classic features.
Jackson Hewitt
Jackson Hewitt is a relatively newer platform when it comes to doing taxes. However, if you need a place to file online taxes, free of cost, then Jackson Hewitt is your solution. It is a simplistic tax software that has been designed in an easy to understand and conversational language.
Furthermore, Jackson Hewitt assists you through the complete process of deductions, income, or the necessary documents that might be needed through this entire process of tax filing. The e-filing option of Jackson Hewitt is free. One feature to look forward to is that the package also includes unemployment income, interest, and W-2.
Credit Karma Tax®
Last on this list is Credit Karma Tax®. Credit Karma was launched in 2007 as a personal finance company. It has managed to supersede the taxpayer’s expectations. Credit Karma Tax® is a one of a kind platform that gives you free software for online tax preparation. Moreover, the platform supports almost all the IRS schedules and forms. So, you can perform your e-filing via this software at absolutely no cost. One limitation here is that you cannot import anything from competitors. Apart from that, everything done on Credit Karma Tax® will be free of cost.
Benefits of filing taxes online
We are way past the time when we used a pen and paper to file taxes. Today, as you know, it can all be done online. Besides the ease of doing taxes online, there are a plethora of benefits of doing so. Here, we’ll look at some of them.
It helps you save some money
There are approximately sixty million taxpayers around the world who only need to file a simple return for their taxes. Despite this, they are spending a lot of their valuable money and time to get their taxes filed by an expert. It is because they feel that this is something they cannot do on their own. In all honesty, filing taxes online is not only easy but also free and 100% accurate. Moreover, by doing so, you can save yourself approximately 100 dollars, if you plan on doing it all by yourself, via online software rather than hiring a professional. Guess what, even those who aren’t eligible to file a return for free can also save themselves a good amount of money and time by doing it online on their own.
It is extremely simple
Trust us when we say this, you have nothing to be afraid of when it comes to filing your taxes. Just look for good and reliable tax software to file tax online (you can use one of the 5 listed above), and you’ll see how easy it is. Most of the online tools are intuitive, user-friendly, and fairly self-explanatory. Furthermore, what’s interesting about these tax software solutions is that there’s no need for a taxpayer to have book knowledge of the tax codes. Your chosen software will only ask you a bunch of questions related to your financial history, and then based on your answers, it will help you with all the tax credits and deductions that you can get on your income. A tax software can also help you get rid of any additional work because when you use the software again for the second time, it will automatically transfer all the relevant information that you filled in during your previous filing.
Filing can be done from anywhere
The good thing about filing your taxes online is that it cannot only be done online but can also be done from any place. Another benefit is that a lot of the online tax software platforms come with a mobile application, so you can even use your smartphone for e-filing.
You learn about financial aspects
When you do your tax filing yourself, you not only become more aware of your finances but also learn new techniques and ways to save some money. With an online tax software, you can know about tax credits, tax deductions, and the other tax reliefs that you can avail of. It will also help you in finding out which activities you should engage in to save more tax in the future.
It is more accurate
When you file your returns online, there’s no guesswork, as all the calculations are done by a software. While filing an e-return, you’ll get a notification from the IRS every time you make mistakes, like submitting the wrong SSN for your dependents, partner, or even yourself. In simpler terms, using a tax software is more like having a guide to help you through the process of filing your income tax return, ensuring that everything is done correctly. You pay the minimum amount of tax after claiming all the deductions, all of which makes the process way more accurate.
