Filing Taxes for Free with Paper, Computer , iPhone, or Android

In my quest to save every cent possible in this year off, I successfully filed both my federal and state tax return for free! Now the $85 I once spent on getting my taxes done by a tax preparer can be used on gas, groceries, or banked into my meager retirement account.

You don't have to be a "brave soul" to successfully file your taxes yourself, contrary to what the Boston Globe believes. If you are a pencil-and-paper person you can take a trip down to your local library where they should have blank copies of Form 1040 and 1040 EZ along with your state tax forms. You can bring along your calculator, W2s and other tax forms, and dedicate one night to filing your taxes and mailing it in.

However, the IRS and State Revenue Departments are encouraging residents to file electronically in an effort to reduce errors on forms (numerical 1's that look like 2's in bad hand writing), and of course paper-waste. The Globe reported that the error rate for e-filed returns is about 1 percent compared to 20 percent with paper returns.

Filing online is easy and allows you to receive your tax return faster. When e-filing, if you elect to have your refund deposited directly into your bank account, then you can receive your money within 10 days! (It took my return approximately 7 days). This ensures that your check doesn't get lost with the US Postal Service, and it also enables you to spread your money and deposit them in up to 3 different accounts across different financial institutions.

You are eligible to file your taxes for free with the IRS if your income is $58,000 or less (that's almost 70% of all taxpayers). Even if you make more than that, you can still use the IRS online forms to electronically file for a fee. I, myself, used Turbo Tax Freedom Edition 2010 to file my federal return. It had a simple interface, I entered in my personal information to figure out my filing status, my W2s and other forms, and it walked me through my federal return and then my state return. However, when I reached the end, TurboTax told me I had to pay $15 to file the state return. My advice to you if you go this route, is to just file your federal return since it is free.

Once I finished that, I went to mass.gov/webfile to input essentially the same information (Mass residents make sure you have your Form MA-1099HC to enter your insurance company's federal id numbers and your subscriber number.)


Total time, approx. 2 hours.

That's right. I used to pay someone $42.50/hr to file my taxes.

This year, for the first time ever, you can even use your Android or iPhone this year to file your 2010 tax return. Turbo Tax SNAP TAX app allows you to take photos of your W2s and you can even file a simple 1040EZ with the app. While the app is free to play around with, there is a $14.99 fee associated if you use it to file.You can also use the IRS2GO app to check the status of your refund, or the H&R Block Tax Central app which has a useful checklist to make sure you have all the forms necessary to start filing your taxes.


But if you are still too nervous to file on your own, it is better to ask for help than to make a mistake on your tax forms that will cost your hours of frustration with the IRS later. Fortunately, if you meet to free file income criteria or are age 60+, then you can receive free tax preparation help through the good souls at the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program or the Tax Counseling for the Elderly program. Call your local library for more information!

I know my library has a volunteer tax preparer come in once a week until April 18th to assist people with their taxes. Now, isn't that sweet?