If you’re anticipating an income tax refund this year, the fastest way to get that money is to file your tax return electronically and have the refund automatically deposited. The process takes as few as 10 days. This year, the IRS has expanded its e-file program, making it possible for nearly everyone to file electronically for free. Here are the options.
If your 2008 adjusted gross income was $56,000 or less, you qualify for Free File. The program gives you free access to software packages that will walk you through the form preparation process and tell you if you qualify for various tax credits.
If you don’t qualify for Free File, you still have two electronic filing options. First, if you want to use tax preparation software, some programs are now free even for those with higher incomes. Or, if you know exactly which forms you need and don’t need help filling them out, use the free fillable forms.
About 80 percent of taxpayers receive a refund each year and the average refund totals over $2,400. If that’s your situation, and you’d like to stop giving the government a free loan, use the IRS withholding calculator to estimate how much you should be having withheld for federal taxes and then talk with your human resources department about making the appropriate adjustment.
Comments are closed.