Whenever 1042’s and 1099’s make their way into my mailbox, I know it’s nearing that time of the year again… yep, tax season is upon us. I still remember the very first time that I had to struggle with a mountain of paper, incomprehensible legalese, and a hand calculator just to prepare my tax return (which was probably riddled with tiny errors throughout anyway). If memory serves me right, that was probably the first and last time I decided to do the paper version. All those commercial tax preparation programs are really a godsend to legalese-illiterate individuals like myself, who probably comprise a large percentage of the general population. Not that I have any particular preference for any one product… I arbitrarily picked TurboTax one of those years long ago, and have been using it ever since. Basically, the tax program guides you through the entire tax preparation process in idiot-proof everyday language, and even does all the calculations for you (read: for those who couldn’t even pass Math 101 in college, this might be a good idea). By analyzing your personal information and income, the program even indicates what sort of claims you are eligible for, some of which you probably didn’t even realize you were entitled to (which begs the question: how much money have I shortchanged myself when I did the damned paper thingy??). In a nutshell, tax preparation software like TurboTax, TaxACT, and TaxCut etc. can really save you lots of time, heartache and even money. It also reduces the chances of you making mistakes on your IRS tax return. In addition to federal returns, many of these products can also help prepare your state returns for a nominal fee. So far my taxes have thankfully not been too complicated to do, but for those with more complex returns, perhaps you’ll want to find a tax professional from say, H&R Block, to handle everything for you… unless of course, you’re lucky enough to know someone who does that for a living!
Tags: tax, tax preparation software, tax program, TurboTax
