Wayne's "MAKE MY LIFE LESS TAXING!" eZine... ...the bi-weekly publication dedicated to helping you pay the least amount of tax required by U.S. tax law. And not a penny more. Week of February 24, 2003 =========================================================== Looking for a way to reduce the cost of income tax preparation this year? Then you came to the right place -- maybe! The IRS has launched a new program this year -- it's called "Free File", and it enables you to prepare and e-file your personal income tax return online for free. But, alas, there is no free lunch and likewise this "free" program isn't really free for everyone. You have to meet certain eligibility requirements to take advantage of Free File, so read on! =========================================================== IRS Free File Is Not A Free-For-All -- by Wayne M. Davies Copyright 2003 Wayne M. Davies Inc. =========================================================== Simply put, Free File is a new government program that enables certain qualifying individuals to both prepare and e-file their income tax returns for free -- online. The IRS has entered into a partnership with 17 private tax software companies who each offer their services to the public at no cost. But here's the catch: not everyone qualifies, and each of the 17 software companies has different eligibility requirements. Generally speaking, lower income people qualify, as do people of certain ages and those who live in certain states. (Gee, sounds confusing, doesn't it? Guess that's why it's a government program.) There are 3 main requirements. You only have to meet one of these criteria to qualify: 1. Income -- if your income is below the following amounts, you qualify. TurboTax -- $27,000 FreeTaxReturns.com -- $28,000 H&R Block -- $28,000 TaxBrain -- $12,000 CompleteTax -- $33,000 Efile-Tax-Returns.com -- $28,000 FreeTaxUSA.com -- $30,000 TAXSLAYER.COM -- $30,000 TAX$IMPLE -- $28,000 Free1040TaxReturns.com -- $25,000 Only one vendor allows you to qualify if your income is above a certain amount. TaxACT.com is free if your income is greater than $50,000. 2. Age -- if you are above or below a certain age, you qualify. TaxBrain -- age 50 or older OnLineTaxes -- age 20 or younger 3. State of residence -- if you happen to live in one of the following states, you qualify. FileYourTaxes.com -- Arizona, Georgia, Michigan or Wisconsin eSmartTax.com -- Illinois, N. Carolina, Ohio or Georgia And there's one more: TAXSLAYER.COM lets all Active Duty Military personnel file for free. Here's a few points to keep in mind. First, you still have to prepare the return yourself, and you have to do it online at the website of each software company. So, the point here is obvious: Free File is a viable option for do-it-yourself-ers only. If you're not inclined to prepare your return yourself, Free File is not for you. Second, you must use the vendors web-based tax preparation software and you also must e-file right from the vendor's website. Maybe you've been using one particular software for awhile -- your software company may not even be in this program, so you'll have to learn a new program, which may not be worth the extra time. Third, and most importantly -- all this hype about Free File is really a mute point if you don't qualify. And most middle-class and upper middle-class folk don't qualify. If you make more than $50,000 and happen to like TaxACT.com, you're in business. Or if you happen to live in one of 7 states, you're also in luck. Otherwise, this program is probably more for your children than for you. To get all the details, go to the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov and click on "Free Online Filing -- Are You Eligible". You'll find complete information on the program, including links to all 17 vendors, and a Frequently Asked Questions page. Enjoy! =========================================================== Wayne M. Davies is author of the new eBook, "The Tax Reduction Toolkit: 29 Little-Known Legal Loopholes That Will Reduce Your Taxes By Thousands (For Small Business Owners and Self-Employed People Only!) Don't file another tax return until you visit: http://www.YouSaveOnTaxes.com/toolkit.html =========================================================== Update on the Make My Life Taxing eZine. . . . . . . . . . Just a quick note of thanks for subscribing to this newsletter. It's only in its second month of publication and the number of subscribers just passed the 1,000 mark. Thank you for your support! In case you're a new reader, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Wayne Davies, Fort Wayne's only short, bald, bearded Tax Accountant. I've been doing taxes, accounting and payroll for small businesses and self-employed folks for about 15 years. I'm just a regular guy who loves to help people cope with this incredible monster called the U.S. Tax Code. I'm married to an elementary school teacher (Julie) and I have 3 children -- Lindsay (14), Courtney (11) and Russell (6). Let's see, what else would you like to know about me? Hobbies? OK, I like to exercise, read, and listen to jazz. I try to be accessible to my readers -- so feel free to drop me an email and tell me about yourself and your business. And I also welcome your feedback and questions. I've been getting plenty of good tax questions lately and I'll be featuring a Q&A section in this ezine soon. So if you have a tax question that's got you stumped, send it my way and I'll do my best to answer it in a future issue. Until next time, Many Happy Returns, Wayne =========================================================== Be sure to take a peek at my "other" website, http://www.MagneticMarketing.biz -- I have a second free newsletter, "Small Business Owner / Smart Business Owner", which focuses on marketing strategies and motivational insights. Subscribe to this ezine I'll send you a free ebook, "How To Get More Customers In A Month Than You Now Get All Year!" Check it out: http://www.MagneticMarketing.biz =========================================================== Contact Information: Wayne M. Davies Inc. 4660 W. Jefferson Blvd., Suite 220 Fort Wayne, IN 46804 Tel 260-459-3858 / Fax 260-459-00124 TOLL FREE 866-543-5257 email: Wayne@YouSaveOnTaxes.com http://www.YouSaveOnTaxes.com http://www.MagneticMarketing.biz ====================================================== Title: IRS Free File Is Not A Free-For-All Author: Wayne M. Davies Author email: Wayne@YouSaveOnTaxes.com url: http://www.YouSaveOnTaxes.com autoresponder: word count: 582 character width: 60 keywords: taxes, e-file, filing tax returns 20-30 word description: Looking for a way to reduce the cost of income tax preparation this year? Then you came to the right place -- maybe! Author bio: Wayne M. Davies is a Tax Professional serving small business and self-employed clients in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Wayne has been helping his clients reduce their taxes for the past 15 years. Wayne provides a complete line of accounting, payroll and tax preparation services for all business types: sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations and LLC's. He is author of the new eBook, "The Tax Reduction Toolkit: 29 Little-Known Legal Loopholes That Will Reduce Your Taxes By Thousands (For Small Business Owners and Self-Employed People Only!), available at http://www.YouSaveOnTaxes.com/toolkit.html. Wayne also publishes two bi-weekly eZines: "Make My Life Less Taxing", available at http://www.YouSaveOnTaxes.com; and "Small Business Owner/Smart Business Owner", available at http://www.MagneticMarketing.biz. Resource box: Wayne M. Davies is author of the new eBook, "The Tax Reduction Toolkit: 29 Little-Known Legal Loopholes That Will Reduce Your Taxes By Thousands (For Small Business Owners and Self-Employed People Only!) Don't file another tax return until you visit: http://www.YouSaveOnTaxes.com/toolkit.html Wayne M. Davies is author of the new eBook, "The Tax Reduction Toolkit: 29 Little-Known Legal Loopholes That Will Reduce Your Taxes By Thousands (For Small Business Owners and Self-Employed People Only!) http://www.YouSaveOnTaxes.com/toolkit.html Reprint Guidelines: ** Attention Ezine editors / Site owners ** Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site so long as you leave all links in place, do not modify the content and include my resource box as listed above. If you do use the material, please send me an email so I can take a look: mailto:Wayne@YouSaveOnTaxes.com Feel free to substitute your affiliate link in place of my link in the resource box. Earn 50% on every purchaser you refer. Affiliate details are available here: http://www.YouSaveOnTaxes.com/affiliate.html