Did you know that over 100 million American taxpayers are eligible for free tax preparation services offered through the IRS website? And did you know that only 2.5 million Americans took advantage of those free services last year? That’s right, if you’re paying hundreds of dollars to tax preparers to do your taxes, or buying software to fill out your 1040, you may be throwing away perfectly good money.
The IRS has partnered with numerous tax preparation companies to offer free tax preparation software services to US taxpayers. The only catch is that you have to have an adjusted gross income (AGI) of less than $69,000. Look at line 7 of last year’s 1040 to see if you’re eligible, or check your eligibility using the IRS’ free tool. And remember that any pre-tax contributions, such as healthcare premiums, contributions to 401(k) plans, or to health savings accounts, don’t count toward your AGI. So if your salary is above $69,000, you still may be eligible for free tax preparation services.
If you’re eligible, you can work with any number of tax preparation firms with which IRS partners, all for free. And even if you’re not eligible, you’re still eligible for the IRS’ Free File fillable forms, which again allows you to file for free. You’ll just have to input the information into the forms yourself.
For Americans who aren’t making a lot of money each year and who don’t have complicated investments for which they need to account, this free service offer from IRS could really help them come tax season. Not only will it help them file their taxes early and get refunds sooner, it can also help them avoid spending hundreds of dollars on tax preparation services that they don’t really need.
If you’re eligible for these free services, or think that you might be, head over to the IRS website to get more information.