TurboTax Free Edition

The TurboTax software includes a whole host of features especially designed to helping you complete your tax return. Features such as online tax advice forums, tax tips, auto save functions, correction of tax errors and mistakes, live answers to your tax questions, instant access to tax forms and procedures, and many othes. So whether you have a low or high income, TurboTax helps you maximize your deductions for the biggest tax refund possible.

By law a tax return must be used to report income and calculate taxes owed to the federal government of the United States. Depending on individual income, the marginal tax rate ranges from zero to 35 percent. The U.S. government rewards certain behaviour with tax deductions or tax credits. For example, amounts used to pay mortgage interest on a personal home may be deductible, if the taxpayer elects to itemize.

Completing your tax return using TurboTax is simple via their clean and fast submission process Questions are only asked that are relevant to you, and answers are detailed and easy to understand. In some circumstances TurboTax will point you in the direction of an official form, including 1040EZ, 1040A, and 1040. Saving your time, the software is also intelligent enough to skip interview questions that do not apply to you, so you can finish your return much faster.

A downloadable Audit Support Center is included to give you step by step guidance on everything you should know and do if the IRS contacts you about your tax return. You will be walked though different types of income such as your W-2s, unemployment benefits, retirement, disability, and survivors benefits. Progress is saved automatically so you do not have to complete your form all on one day and you will not loose anything if you decide to stop. You can choose to take it at your own pace, at any time of day. You can even skip to different areas in your tax return.

The Live Community area is a nice touch of TurboTax. You can find answers to commonly asked tax questions on each of the software screens. Similarly, the Smart Check feature is great for scanning for mistakes and fixing them. By using Smart Check you can feel safe that your tax return is error free and you can be confident your taxes are done right.

Note Free Edition does not cover tax schedules C, D, E, and F (required for people who own a business or have sold investments).

Turbo Tax Review

Anonymous (Mission Viejo, CA)
Pros: Explicit instructions; User-friendly operation; Helpful advice for future planning
Cons: None

Figuring our own taxes without leaving home, being able to stop and start again where you left off, easy-to-understand instructions are the main reasons I like this program. I can see the tax form itself as I fill in the figures. This enables me to understand my taxes for better planning and organizing each upcoming year -- and save $$$. This is a great piece of software!

Common tax return forms:

Transfer taxes

Form 706, U.S. Estate Tax Return;

Form 709, U.S. Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return;

Statutory excise taxes

Form 720, Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return;

Form 2290, Heavy Vehicle Use Tax Return;

Form 5330, Return of Excise Taxes Related to Employee Benefit Plans;

Employment (payroll) taxes

Form 940, Employers Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return;

Form 941, Employers Quarterly Federal Tax Return;

Income taxes

Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return;

Form 1040A, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return;

Form 1040EZ, Income Tax Return for Single and Joint Filers with No Dependents;

Form 1041, U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts (for 1993 and prior years, this was known as U.S. Fiduciary Income Tax Return);

Form 1065, U.S. Return of Partnership Income (for 1999 and prior years, this was known as U.S. Partnership Return of Income) (information return);

Form 1099 series (various titles) (information return);

Form W-2 (information return);

Form 1120, U.S. Corporation Income Tax Return;

Form 1120S, U.S. Income Tax Return for an S Corporation

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