[codehusker]

This might not apply to many who frequent HN, but not enough people know about Free File options.

If your adjusted gross income is less than $66,000 you can likely file your federal and potentially state taxes for free.

If you make more than $66,00 AGI, the IRS provides fillable forms that are pretty easy to use for your federal but might not be applicable in all circumstances.

https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-f...

[EsotericAlgo]

Many states also offer an online filing option.

For example, California has CalFile[1] which covers most situations. There are also some options for free federal filing if your AGI exceeds $66,000 as the requirements set by Free File Alliance[2] members vary depending on the offerings (e.g. FreeTaxUSA[3] doesn't have AGI limits).

[1] https://www.ftb.ca.gov/online/CalFile/index.asp

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_File_Alliance

[3] https://www.freetaxusa.com/

[pnutjam]

I've been using DIY tax, http://www.freetax.com

[shkkmo]

I used their system to submit my taxes this year. (Edit: the "free fillable forms" system)

Their UX is absolutely atrocious. It will do the math for you, but there are a number of intermediate fields that require you to enter a value manually, but have no indication in the form of what they are. You have to go through their instructions (separate from the IRS instructions) for the form to figure out what fields require manual entry.

Eventually I was able to work my way through the form with research and experimentation.

The only thing I wasn't able to figure out was how to get it to include the penalty for failing to pay estimated taxes. I added the form to my filing and filled it out, but I could never get the number of populate into the 1040 and their form wouldn't let me enter that value manually. While I would have preferred to pay it all at once, my only option was to wait for the IRS to calculate this and bill me for it.

Can we please, please, please get 18F to rebuild this so it doesn't completely suck? Offering a solid, free alternative to Turbo Tax and other abusive companies would be so beneficial.

[yladiz]

I was just about to comment about this! I moved outside of the states, and have a non-US bank account, which is something that TurboTax doesn't handle in their free version. I ended up using H&R Block through this Free File, and it covered both federal (1040) and CA returns for free, which TurboTax wanted to charge $30 for CA return and like $40 or $50 for the federal since I have a non-US bank account. If you make less than $66k, definitely check out that link because it can save you a good chunk of money depending in your tax situation.

[purple-again]

They likely wanted to charge you more because you would need to file a FBAR if your account was above $10,000 (been a while need to check that threshold hasn’t moved). Big penalty if you do it wrong so you may want to double check.

[ebikelaw]

How are you meant to reckon your AGI without in essence “doing your taxes”?

[emodendroket]

I'd guess by taking your salary and determining if it was around $66k or less.

[ebikelaw]

AGI is net of deductions though, hence the "adjusted". AGI is literally the bottom line on form 1040. You can't just figure it in your head.

[emodendroket]

The US median income is well under $66k, making this is a moot point for more than half of filers. If you're on the cusp and trying to guess take the standard deduction.