Website Review: TaxAct.com

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Quickly and painlessly files my taxes

Cons: Ads if you use the free service

The Bottom Line:

Free and easy way

E-file your Federal tax

I've used it for years

E-File for Free with TaxAct.com

Slowly but surely, I adapt to technological change. For several years, I resisted e-filing my taxes, mainly because I didn't want to try to figure out the entire process. Plus, I had heard there were fees attached, and I didn't want to pay. But several years ago, I decided to check out the IRS' list of free e-file sites. That's how I became a TaxAct.com customer, and I've been using them ever since.

When you go to TaxAct.com, you'll notice that you have many choices. The free tax service is their standard service. It has no bells or whistles. For $9.95 (in 2008), you can upgrade to their deluxe version. This version offers tax advice, the ability to import last year's information, and it will import this year's information into the FAFSA form for you. While I don't have any college kids, those who do will love this short cut to applying for financial aid. Then there's the ultimate bundle. It will set you back $16.95 (again, the 2008 price). It includes the deluxe bundle plus state filing.

But that's not the only choice. You can either do your taxes right on their secure web site, but you can also download their software onto your computer. The standard service is still free, but the deluxe and ultimate bundles cost $3 more if you want to download.

Personally, I have only ever used the standard level of service, and I have always filled it out on-line. I've been perfectly happy with this level. And it is the level I will be discussing for the remainder of the review.

Once you chose your level and have created your account, you can start inputting data by answering a series of questions. After entering the basic information like name and date of birth, they move you on to information about your income. For each level of income, they have a series of prompts. For example, when I input the information about my income from my job, I have to fill in my employer's Federal and State Tax ID Numbers and the amounts from the various boxes on my W-2. Don't know where any of that information is? Don't worry. When they ask for information, they tell you what box number it is in. It really couldn't be more painless.

Once you are done with income, they move on to deductions. You have the option of taking the standardized deduction and skipping those questions, or entering any deductions you have and then choosing the greater of your standardized or itemized deductions.

If you start your taxes and realize you are missing something, don't worry. The site saves your information as it goes along, providing you with several chances to get out. When you have the info you were missing, you can log back in and pick up where you left off.

One feature I love is the running total in the upper right hand corner. After every new piece of information you enter, it tells you how much you owe or how much you are getting back. I just love watching those numbers change.

One drawback to the standard level of service is the ads. After every step, they tease you with some information you could get by upgrading to the deluxe level. This is especially true at the end before they run the alerts to see if there are any glaring errors. I probably went through 8 different ads before they decided I wasn't going to upgrade.

TaxAct also offers to file your state taxes for you. In fact, they keep a running total of that return as well. Again, I am cheep. Since I can do it for free with my state government, I don't want to pay them to do it for me. For the standard service, it is $13.95 to file the state return. An extra $7.00 on the deluxe package will get your state taxes filed. (Um, that's exactly the difference between the deluxe and ultimate packages). Those fees cover one state. Each additional state costs you $13.95.

My taxes are fairly straightforward. About the only weird thing I have is the rental income I got from my roommates. But even that is easy enough to enter on their site. With all my information gathered, it took me an hour to file my taxes this year. Most of that time was spent entering the information into their forms, too.

A word of warning. If you are using their web program on the standard (free) level, be sure to print out your forms when given the chance. (Before you e-file, they give you the option of printing out the forms.) Once you e-file and log out, you can't get back in and access them any more. Obviously, you'll want a record of your return. If you pay for the deluxe platform, you can get back in and retrieve that information at a later date. Even so, I'd want to print it out as soon as given the chance.

You also have the option of entering your bank information to get any refund by direct deposit. Thanks to that, I've gotten my refunds in about two weeks the last couple of years.

I'm glad I discovered TaxAct.com several years ago. It's made filing my taxes much easier.