Taxes are less taxing electronically

Ah, April. Spring weather, rain showers, and taxes. Tax time means refunds for many, and a big expenditure for others. At least we get an extra day this year since the 15th falls on Sunday. In recent years, an increasing number of people are turning to their computer for accurate and timely filing. There are now more choices than ever.

Intuit's Quicken TurboTax 2000 is one of the most popular software packages, as well as being reasonably priced. They make 4 flavors of the TurboTax software. The version you'll want depends on your filing requirements. Information is available online at intuit.com. According to their description, it can, "automatically retrieve and enter your W-2 data and select 1099 data from participating employers and financial institutions". Be cautious if you use this feature however, as a minor security glitch was announced April 5th relating to account passwords (see cnnfn.cnn.com/2001/04/05/investing/wires/intuit_wg for the details).

The trendy thing to do for the 21st century is web-based tax preparation.

An online version of TurboTax is available which you can access free courtesy of fidelity.com. They even go one step further and say they'll let you file electronically for free!

Taxact.com allows you to do your taxes for free, no strings attached. This is no scaled-down model. It includes most of the common required forms. Use the interview interface and the software will fill out the forms for you based on your answers, or if you prefer, just fill in the blanks on the forms yourself. The built-in depreciation calculator impressed me. Want to file electronically? You can do so for a minimal fee of $7.95. Taxactonline.com is their online version (no download required) and it is reasonably priced at $7.95. State versions are also available for $12.95 each.

Kiplinger's TaxCut from H&R Block presents you with simple questions then automatically chooses and completes the forms you need. You can then print your return out and mail it in, or file electronically. You can also opt to have an H&R Block expert look over your return before filing for an additional fee. This program also comes in several versions based on your needs. It is available online starting at just $9.95 for the federal filing edition. Click over to taxcut.com for more details. Also available is Taxcut's online version. Nothing to download or install on your system, but it runs on Javascript so make sure you're using an up-to-date browser. Try it free and don't pay until you're ready to file. For some terrific tax-related links and tips, try moneycentral.msn.com/tax/home.asp also sponsored by Block.

When you itemize deductions, you may still prefer to have your local accountant do your taxes. A person who is well versed in the tax laws can help you find deductions the computer may not suggest. You can still keep track of your information on disk, then provide it to your accountant on paper, floppy, or email!

Let your computer help you this tax season.