No-cost help
Online Filing
Free! That's the latest come-on at the IRS's Web site--www.irs.gov--where you can browse a list of 16 online tax preparers currently offering no-cost electronic preparation and filing of returns. But watch out. If you don't meet income or other limitations, you will be asked to pay. Income caps of $27,000 to $33,000 are common, though one site welcomes anyone with income over $50,000, another people 50 or older. Included are biggies TurboTax, TaxACT, and H&R Block.
You may be bombarded to buy extras--such as more extensive tax advice, filing a state return, or taking out an instant loan to immediately cash in on a refund.
Last year, 36 percent of taxpayers filed electronically. The goal is 80 percent by 2007, but that seems optimistic to many.
This story appears in the March 10, 2003 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.