The first time you do your own taxes is often a nerve-wracking experience. You worry that you are going to miss something and get hit with a steep penalty from the IRS. Fortunately, you can use www.TurboTax.com to file your taxes yourself with confidence. Follow the tips below to learn How To File Your Taxes on TurboTax.
1. Gather Your Paperwork. Getting your financial paperwork, including your W-2 and 1099 forms, together before working with TurboTax is a critical first step. Being organized at the start will save you a lot of time as you proceed
2. Check the Cost. If your taxes are simple and you have only W-2 forms and bank interest statements to include, you may be able to file for free. Use TurboTax to determine whether or not you qualify for free filing by answering some simple questions as prompted by the program.
3. File Your State Taxes. Federal taxes get most of the attention in the media, but you also need to file state taxes. Fortunately, TurboTax transfers all of your details to the appropriate state tax forms to save you time.
4. File Electronically. TurboTax 2015-2021 lets you quickly and easily file your taxes online without needing to print and mail forms. The program walks you through deductions, credits and obligations to help you get the maximum refund to which you are entitled without risking penalties. Sounds like the perfect solution for many families and individuals across the country.
It’s hard to put taxes and fun in the same sentence; Taxes are nobody’s favorite thing. The confusing jargon and often complicated form names, exceptions and rules lead to many Americans dreading having to file their taxes each year. What a lot of them don’t realize though is that filing taxes doesn’t have to be so confusing. In fact, it can be easy, with the help of technology.
English: The 6 co-founders of 6+1 advertising agency (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
We let technology guide us through the day, from waking us up in the morning to letting us do our jobs to providing us with entertainment at night. It’s hard to imagine there’s any American left that doesn’t have access to a computer, laptop, smartphone or tablet. TurboTax 2013 utilizes that fact and comes with a super easy tax filing program that lets people do their 2013 tax return with ease. All that’s required is answering straightforward questions about life, which – as TurboTax 2013 hypothesizes – nobody can do better than the tax filer himself.
As part of a new campaign to persuade Americans to file their own taxes TurboTax 2013 has come up with a series of fun, endearing advertisements. And to make sure they reach an audience as big as possible the ads will launch as part of the Super Bowl Ads in 2014. After all everyone has to file taxes, and what other platform reaches all kinds of Americans at the same time in such large numbers?
As most people know SuperBowl ads aren’t just your regular TV ads, they’re the cream of the crop that are in a league of their own. Advertising space of just 30 seconds during the SuperBowl can cost multiple millions. It’s therefore no surprise that SuperBowl ads often feature A-list celebrities and have sky-high budgets. SuperBowl ads are funny, endearing or even small works of arts. Their goal is to achieve maximum impact and with the rise of YouTube many of them have gone viral in recent years. Not an easy thing to accomplish for a company dealing with taxes in comparison to, say, a company selling soda or a TV production company.
Conceptualized by advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy, the TurboTax 2013 SuperBowl ads manage to continue the tradition of funny, clever and endearing SuperBowl ad though. From a girlfriend subjecting her unsuspecting boyfriend to one random question after another to a guy flying with a bird in the sky (yes, you read that right) the TurboTax 2013 ads have admirably put the fun in taxes. Check out an exclusive preview below!
All people with income need to file taxes yearly. If you have missed one or more years in the past ten, now is the time to file back taxes. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can impose steadily increasing fines and penalties the longer you wait.
Why File Back Taxes
There are convincing reasons to catch up on back taxes:
• Reduce penalties; there are separate penalties for not filing, and for not paying; by filing you avoid one penalty even if you cannot afford to pay immediately
• Ease your conscience by meeting legal requirements
• Start the clock on the IRS statute of limitations which is three years to audit and ten years to collect
• If the IRS has sent an inaccurate estimate, filing can correct it
• You may be due a refund for any of the previous three years; unless you file, you will not know
Steps for Filing Back Tax Forms
Follow these steps to file back taxes:
• Gather all W-2s or 1099 forms, receipts and other documents to support deductions and credits for each year
• If you are missing W-2s, 1099s or 1098s to support deductions, ask for copies from the IRS, using Form 4506-T
• Download appropriate tax forms for each year, or use tax preparation software
• Prepare the tax return for each year, using that year’s information and guidelines
• Submit the forms, along with as much of a payment as possible to reduce interest charges
• After filing, talk to the IRS to try to reduce penalties and fees
If you need help to file back taxes, consult a tax attorney. He can help gather and complete necessary documents to send to the IRS. This professional can also negotiate a payment plan or settle other issues.
TurboTax has come under fire recently after a report from Propublica revealed that Intuit, TurboTax’s parent company had launched a massive lobbying effort against what is known as return-free tax filing.
TurboTax app (Photo credit: fixedgear)
This method, which is already used in other countries, would have the IRS prepare an estimate of the taxpayer’s liability. The recipient would have the option to accept the estimate, make corrections to it, or reject it and prepare his own return, using a tax preparation company or other option.
This process puts the onus on the IRS to use the information that employers and banks have already provided to them to prepare these files. The taxpayers who would benefit most from this process are those who file simple forms with no itemization. Up to 40% of taxpayers could benefit from this system.
TurboTax 2013 would have suffered a clear loss of revenue by implementation of this plan. Fewer taxpayers would actually need to file, and TurboTax, being the largest online tax preparation firm, would certainly feel the loss of preparation fees.
Other tax firms and some political figures have opposed return-free filing because they feel the plan expands government control and that receiving a “bill” from the government might intimidate taxpayers into paying the amount without question.
Free Turbo Tax 2013 preparation would not have been necessary if the return-free plan had been adopted. Considering that TurboTax 2013 garners much business by selling consumers upgrades to more expensive packages, the company’s opposition is understandable from a financial standpoint. They cannot, however, claim an impartial interest in the matter.
Return-free filing is not a new idea and has been endorsed by two Presidents and a host of consumer advocates. Other countries have already successfully adopted such a plan, but strong lobbying efforts by TurboTax and other tax preparation firms have so far kept it from becoming a reality in the United States.
Intuit’s PAC Lobbies Against IRS Filed Taxes
Should taxpayers determine how much are owed on their taxes or is this a job for the government? TurboTax lobbying has led to millions of dollars being spent against IRS filed taxes. The IRS could make doing taxes easier on Americans by filing the taxes of citizens instead. Intuit is the parent company behind the TurboTax software and has used its public action committee (PAC) to spend millions to oppose every effort to make tax day less painful.
Intuit, the parent company of TurboTax has lobbied extensively against the “return-free” filing, decreasing the stress of Americans who file complex taxes. This represents the continuation of having to file taxes which take up a great deal of time, despite Obama’s efforts in 2007 towards taxes being prepared by the IRS.
TurboTax and other similar companies are partly responsible for Americans not being able to go without filing their taxes for years. It’s possible that this would have previously been made a law, however, tax professionals have expressed their opposition to this. American’s being able to go without filing taxes for such long periods of time would be detrimental to the businesses that profit from this.
TurboTax’s public opposition to IRS government tax preparation is a clear indication the business knows their long term profits would be affected. Intuit’s PAC has spent over $5 million contributing to certain politicians with the biggest donation to one individual being $1 million.
Each year, thousands of taxpayers fail to file their federal income taxes. Some individuals willingly forgo this action while others run into special circumstances. No event or situation frees a taxpayer from their responsibilities though. With that in mind, a person can always file back taxes in order to start catching up. Various options are currently available for taxes 2011.
Tax Preparation (Photo credit: agrilifetoday)
Filing tax returns for previous years often proves relatively simple. However, an individual needs the right software and extensive records for that particular year. Products like TurboTax, TaxAct, and others offer software for past returns. Free tax filing 2011 is hard to come by but is not impossible to find. Undoubtedly, taxpayers want to save as much money as possible.
For taxes 2011, the taxpayer needs to fill out all necessary tax return forms. They should treat this return just like any other one, making sure to avoid common mistakes. Failure to do so might cause problems when the IRS receives the return. Without a doubt, it is important to handle this matter quickly to avoid major consequences and problems.
Free tax filing 2011 is still available even though it is a past tax year. Many people fail to realize that they can still finish taxes 2011. The longer an individual waits, the more penalties they will face. In the end, finishing this task quickly produces the best results under all circumstances. That fact should not be forgotten for obvious reasons. The IRS takes federal income taxes very seriously after all.
Using Turbotax 2011 would be the best way to handle the filing of your taxes regardless of your financial situation. There are many people that make the mistake of putting off their taxes until the last minute. However, doing so would only delay the return of the money that belongs to you. Additionally, it is possible that you would be subjected to late fees for missing the deadline. It is important that you turn in your taxes as soon as possible in order to limit the financial stress that you face during this season. Instead of waiting until the deadline is approaching, you want to look for solutions that can help you to rid your life of this problem during this tax year. When you have the ability to use this great software, you will find that it takes much less time to enter all of your information and get it submitted.
Typically, people worry about the amount of time that is needed to get their taxes submitted. However, TaxAct is a streamlined approach to filing taxes because it is designed for anyone to use. As a result, you do not need to be a tax professional in order to complete your taxes with this software. In fact, most people that use TaxAct know very little about the specifics of tax law. Since this software is designed to remove all of the hard work, all that you need to do is enter some financial information. When you choose TaxAct this tax season, you will be able to enjoy a larger savings than any other option on the market today. Try the best and you will notice the savings in your pocket.
