I started using Free File Fillable Forms. It's a refreshingly simple site run by the IRS that lets you fill out all the standard tax return forms in your browser and file them directly. It helps with a few small things, like doing basic math for you e.g. when a particular row is supposed to contain the sum of several other rows, but that's pretty much it. At the end of the filing season, they delete all accounts and data contained on the site, so I mean technically somebody could still hack them I suppose, but at least the attack window is much smaller than in the case of something like TurboTax where they store all your data forever.
The first time around, it's a little bit of a pain to figure out what forms you need to attach and such, but it's really not that hard if you read the instructions for the forms and just follow the directions. If you're doing something complex like running a business and dealing with depreciable property or calculating AMT, it gets a little hairy, but even then I've generally been able to figure things out by just reading through the free publications that the IRS puts up on the web. I also like the sense of deeper understanding that I get from seeing how everything is being calculated, instead of just answering a bunch of questions and then having an algorithm spit out a number for my refund.
Personally, I am a bit pissed that the IRS, a government organization with the sole purpose of collecting taxes, has no method for me to submit my tax return to them via the internet.
Wow, I had no idea, thanks for the info. The IRS website doesn't provide any obvious indication that FFFF is run by a third party, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised that they contracted it out like that.
Maybe it's time to just switch back to downloading the PDF forms, filling them in on my local computer, printing them out, and just mailing them in. Ugh.
The first time around, it's a little bit of a pain to figure out what forms you need to attach and such, but it's really not that hard if you read the instructions for the forms and just follow the directions. If you're doing something complex like running a business and dealing with depreciable property or calculating AMT, it gets a little hairy, but even then I've generally been able to figure things out by just reading through the free publications that the IRS puts up on the web. I also like the sense of deeper understanding that I get from seeing how everything is being calculated, instead of just answering a bunch of questions and then having an algorithm spit out a number for my refund.