6 Fantastic Ways to File Taxes For Free

Filing taxes can be a burden for many taxpayers. Unfortunately, everyone has to file taxes even if you are unemployed or haven’t earned any income. If you don’t have accurate records it can be a nightmare.

The best way to file your taxes is to stay organized. File all receipts, paperwork or possible paperwork related to personal and business expenses and tax deductions, categorize them into separate folders, and keep handy.

The main expenses to keep track of are: all business income and spending, home office expenses, retirement contributions, student loan interest, energy efficient upgrades, real estate purchases or sales, charitable donations, contributions to college savings plan, and capital gains.

There are several options for filing taxes and some taxpayers are eligible to file their taxes for free. Here are 6 ways to file your taxes for free.

Free Software

If your adjusted gross income is $66,000 or less you can use free tax software such as: Turbo Tax, Free TaxAct, Tax Slayer or H&R Block’s Free File.

Use Free Forms

Anyone can use free file fillable forms from freefilefillableforms.com. The site provides online versions of paper federal tax forms.

Use Free Services

Find free tax clinics in you earn less than $62,000 per year www.irs.gov/uac/Contact-Your-Local-IRS-Office-1 or contact AARP if you 50 or older http://www.aarp.org/applications/VMISLocator/searchTaxAideLocations.action.

File Electronically

Efile (electronically) your tax return for free by using direct deposit or pay your taxes online for free by using irs.gov.

Paper forms

Use paper tax forms to file your taxes and mail them to the IRS. If you filed last year’s taxes with paper forms the IRS will mail you forms this year. The only cost is postage. To order paper tax forms call 800-829-3676 Monday through Friday 7 am - 7 pm.

USE TAX CLINICS

You can get your taxes prepared for free using the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Call 1-800-906-9887 to get more information.

Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs offers tax help for people 60 years old or older at 1-888-227-7669.

Visit an IRS volunteer at a self-assistance service site to get free tax preparation. Visit the IRS website irs.gov to find a facilitated self-assistance site.