1040NOW.NET
January 19, 2009 by Tax Blog
Filed under Federal Tax, Softwares, State Tax
FREE online tax preparation. No download. 1040Now Online Tax Prep and E-Filing is a breeze to use. E-Filing is only $14.95 for 1040-EZ and $19.95 for 1040-A and 1040 return. There will be no charge for our service until you e-file your tax return. E-Filing programs are available for all states. Free Online Support.
Supported Forms:
Federal Tax Forms Supported (Form 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ…)
State Tax Forms Supported (All States Plus DC)
Pricing:
Pricing Chart
- 1040EZ – $14.95
- 1040A – $19.95
- 1040 (Long Form) – $19.95
- State Tax Return – $17.95
FREE federal tax preparation & e-file if your AGI is $54,000 or less and you are age 72 or under and you live in AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, UT, VA, VT, WI, or WV.
Reviews:
BBB Ratings
The BBB Ratings for 1040NOW is quite bad. My initial impression of their website is that it’s still got a long way to go to compete with the big boys such as TurboTax, H&R Block, or TaxAct. The User Interface is very primitive. It’s looks more like an outdated accounting entry system. There is no structured flow to the tax preparation process. The only upside is that they seem to support a very comprehensive list of federal tax forms.
One interesting thing I noticed about their pricing is that they charge $19.95 to restore tax return/user account deleted by user. What this tells me is that they actually do not delete any data from their system even if a users specifically asked them to. I am a little uncomfortable with that design, considering all of my private information (SSN, wage, employer,…) are contained in my tax return.
Screenshots:
W2 Form
Schedule C
Tax Forms, Complexity, and Tim Geithner
People often measure our tax system’s complexity by counting tax forms as if the documents, not the law, are the culprit. But my former IRS colleagues used to remind me that forms actually help taxpayers. Imagine if people were required to read the Internal Revenue Code to figure out how much they owe.
This truism leapt to mind when I read about Treasury Secretary-designate Tim Geithner’s tax problems. While employed at the IMF, Geithner failed to report liability for about $34,000 in payroll taxes. After the IRS audited his 2003 and 2004 returns, he paid the back taxes with interest. Recently, he also remitted payroll taxes for 2001 and 2002, even though by then the statute of limitations had expired.
For most workers, paying payroll taxes is simple because employers withhold both the employee and employer portions. Self-employed people and those with income from partnerships or farms must report their incomes on Schedules C, E, or F. Those forms have a line for payroll tax (called self-employment tax) and refer taxpayers to a Schedule SE to compute this tax. Tax software performs these calculations, completes Schedule SE, and reports the tax owed automatically.
But employees of international organizations (and some others, including clergy) live in a tax never-never land. Their employers aren’t required to pay
Here’s where the fun begins. There is no place to remit this payroll tax on Form 1040, where employees report their wages. Instead, the employee must complete Schedule SE even if he has no self-employment income or any other reason to complete a schedule (C, E, or F) that would direct him to Schedule SE.
Ready for some more fun? Line 2 of Schedule SE lists the types of income that must be reported for SE tax and also specifies: Ministers and members of religious orders, see instructions for amounts to report on this line. Who would guess that these instructions also apply to
As the Senate Finance Committee report on the Geithner matter states, the IMF prepares a booklet for its employees detailing their tax responsibilities and sends its U.S. employees quarterly wage statements that show how their earnings are grossed up to cover the cost of state and federal income taxes and payroll taxes they must pay. So Mr. Geithner had a lot more to go on than just the IRS tax forms. Still, the chances of an error would have been lower if the tax forms had clearly pointed to the right result. And I and some of my colleagues who have consulted for the IMF have ourselves been confused about whether to report our IMF income as wages or self-employment income for tax purposes, with some of us “tax experts” paying too much self-employment tax in past years.
No tax form can clarify every possible wrinkle in the tax code, and the number of taxpayers involved probably doesn’t warrant a special form for income from international organizations or another line on the 1040. But it is not hard to see why we need so many tax forms.
Maybe, however, there is some benefit to this embarrassing episode. Having stumbled in the overly complex maze that is the Internal Revenue Code, maybe Treasury Secretary Geithner will have some sympathy for those who want to simplify it.
New IRS Guidelines for Tax Filers in 2007
The 2007 tax season will get down as planned. How, due to the recent changes the IRS will not be able to action tax returns of tax filers who will be taking (1) state and local sales tax discounts, (2) higher education tutorship and fees discounts and (3) educator expenses, until early February.
Unsurprising, January is the slowest time of the tax season with maximum six percent of the tax returns filed in the first 2 weeks; last year, around 6.7 million returns were filed along January 27. Statistics for 2005 shows that almost 930,000 taxpayers took any of the three discounts by February 1. This year the IRS counters around 136 million tax returns.
According to IRS Commissioner, Mark W. Everson, “the IRS is taking a number of steps to insure taxpayers have the right information on these discounts when they prepare and file their tax returns.” The IRS advances those who may be desirable for these discounts to file electronically. “They will get their refund faster by e-file. Even more significantly, e-file will great come down the chances of making an fault compared to claiming the discounts on the paper 1040″, said Everson.
The primary forms – Forms 1040, 1040A and Schedule A&B that are already in count do not include the dicounts that were approved by the copulation in December. To insure a smoothen sailing, the IRS has created a special effect of Publication 600. Tax filers and tax professionals can get the updated information on the late lawmaking by visiting irs.gov. In addition, the IRS will carry on a special posting of Publication 600 which will be sent out to over 6 million taxpayers. For those taxpayers who mean to e-file, the IRS has informed the tax software to admit the three new discounts.
The sales tax discounts which was took by around 11.2 million tax returns last year goes for to nine states” Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. To claim the sales tax discounts taxpayers must fill line 5 Schedule A (Form 1040) by coming in ST on the line to the left of line 5 to show that you are exacting the sales tax discounts alternatively of the deduction for state and local income tax.
The higher education planning (Hope credit and Lifetime Learning credits) was filed by around 4.7 million taxpayers last year. The credit which is up to $4000 for tutionship and fees paid to post-secondary institutions cannot be claimed on Form 1040A. It must be claimed on Form 1040 on line 23.
The planning for education expenses, which allows educators (particularly teachers) to deduce equal to $250 on personal expenses on school issues, was took by 3.5 taxpayers in 2005. The discounts can be took by filling line 23 on Form 1040.
Free IRS E-File: Getting Started
Click on the “ Start Now” button on the Free File home page to review the list of tax software companies and select one that best suits your needs. Once you select a company link from the list, you will be notified you are leaving the IRS.gov Web site and you will be taken directly to that company’s Web site to begin preparation of your federal income tax return.
You may qualify for Free File if you have an Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of $52,000 or less.
If you used Free File in past filing seasons, you might not qualify for the free services for your tax year 2007 income tax return. Participation in the Free File program is limited to taxpayers with an Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of $52,000 or less.
Members of the tax software industry (i.e., Free File Alliance, LLC) provide these free tax preparation and electronic filing services – not the IRS. Once you choose a particular company, you will be sent directly to the company’s commercial website. Any questions about a particular service or company should be directed to the company providing the free service and not the IRS. Please contact the company to resolve your particular income tax issue. To find out how to contact the company, please refer to the company’s website for more information about their customer service options. Companies associated with the Free File Program are affiliated with the Free File Alliance, LLC, a not for profit organization. IRS does not promote or endorse any specific programs or products associated with this program.
You may determine after you start preparing your tax return with a particular company you are not eligible for the company’s free service and you may be subject to a fee.
If this notification occurs you have the following options:
1. Return back to the IRS’ Free File homepage and review the list of companies and their services and select another company you may qualify for;
2. Choose a company to complete your return but take note of the fee displayed on the company’s website; or
3. Visit the IRS.gov web site, “e-file Partners for Individual Taxpayers”, for additional low-cost e-file opportunities.
For example, if you select a company whose free services are provided to individuals with an Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of $26,000 or less and, based on your tax data, the company determines your AGI exceeds the $26,000 limit, you will be notified you may be subject to a fee. It is important you understand each of the company’s eligibility criteria before selecting a company.
Should I Paper File or Electronic File?
E-file benefits
Electronically submitting your tax return to the IRS is faster, more convenient, and more secure than paper filing. But in order to e-file your return you have to have your taxes done by a tax preparer, prepare them yourself using tax software, or use one of the “Free File” web software programs.
Confirmation from the IRS
The biggest benefit for electronic filing: you will receive a confirmation that the IRS has received your tax return. This is proof that the IRS received your tax return and has started processing it.
If the IRS does not accept your tax return, you will get a rejection notice. The confirmation or rejection notice is sent within 24 hours of transmitting your return. The IRS e-file rejection letter will tell you how to fix your tax return so it will be acceptable to the IRS.
Faster and More Accurate
E-filing has some added benefits too. Your refund is likely to be processed faster. E-filing means the IRS does not have to re-type your tax return at their service center, which means less chance that the IRS will make a mistake when processing your return.