Are you going to use income tax software to file your taxes this year? Or are you willing to risk overpaying? The General Accounting Office of the federal government estimates that most taxpayers overpay by at least several hundred dollars.
This is the government themselves admitting the over-payments.
But you probably won't get a nice note from the IRS saying, oops you paid too much, here is a refund.
So there are basically four ways to complete your taxes.
Have your Uncle Joe do them for you: -Don't worry, he really knows what he is doing.
Hire a professional: -Even though this costs more than a $100 on average.
Do them yourself: -Doesn't that sound like fun.
Trying to decode and understand all the different forms and what deductions you can use.
Use income tax software: -Let the people who design the programs figure out what you need to complete your tax return.
Most tax preparation software is designed to be intuitive and works by asking you questions to decide what forms you are actually required to file.
The programs then look for mistakes and unused deductions to compute the least amount of tax that you owe.
There are usuallyseveral different help options ranging from e-mail to live agents to which you can talk if you have a question.
Most even offer a guarantee of accuracy to assure you that they will pay any fines and penalties if there is a mistake in your tax filing caused by their software.
But the best part, is that most offer free or low cost e-filing.
This is where they send your tax paperwork directly to the IRS electronically.
This means no worries about whether or not your return lost in the mail and will even help any refund that is due to you get processed quicker.
Bottom line.
Sure, income tax software can cost you a little, but you'll be far less likely to make a mistake and pay out too much of your hard earned money so in the long run you'll probably end up saving money.