Tax Deadline A Month From Today

It's March 18, do you know where your tax return is? Just a reminder, since the April 18 tax filing deadline is now a month away.

The fastest, and maybe the easiest way to file your federal return is using the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) e-file system. You or your tax professional prepare your tax return and file it electronically. In many cases, the tax professional is also the Electronic Return Originator (ERO) who is authorized to file your return electronically to the IRS. Ask your tax professional to file your return through IRS e-file.

You sign your electronic tax return by either using a Self-Select PIN for e-file for a completely paperless return, or by signing Form 8453 ,U.S. Individual Income Tax Transmittal for an IRS e-file Return.

After you sign the return using a Self-Select PIN or Form 8453,the tax preparer transmits the return to the IRS or to a third-party transmitter who then forwards the entire electronic record to the IRS for processing.

Once received at the IRS, the return is automatically checked by computers for errors and missing information. If it cannot be processed, it is sent back to the originating transmitter to clarify any necessary information.

Free File

If you're on a budget and meet certain criteria, you can tax advantage of Free File, from the IRS. Free File is a public-private partnership between the IRS and the Free File Alliance, LLC. The Alliance is a consortium of approximately 20 tax software providers who make versions of their products available exclusively on line.

All Free File members must meet certain security requirements and use the latest in encryption technology to protect taxpayers' information.

The easiest way to locate a software provider is to use the online tool that, with a little of a taxpayer's personal information, can identify matching products. Or, taxpayers can review all providers and their offers. Some software providers also offer state income tax preparation for free or for a fee.

This is the third year that the Free File Alliance has provided the Free Fillable Forms program, which is like completing a Form 1040 online, except the program performs some math calculations and provides links to some IRS publications.

“IRS Free File is the one-stop shop for all taxpayers making $58,000 or less to file their federal returns,” said Tim Hugo, executive director of the Free File Alliance. “Through IRS Free File, about 100 million people have free access to the industry’s best tax preparation software and a range of forms to fit most tax situations. It’s all online, and it’s all free. Tax time can be stressful, but IRS Free File walks participants through each step of the filing process to make taxes less taxing.”

The IRS notes that Free File does not use the familiar question-and-answer format used by tax preparation software. It also does not support state income tax returns. Taxpayers can e-file the forms for free. Taxpayers must access the tax products through IRS.gov to avoid any charges for preparing or e-filing a federal tax return.

By early March, the IRS estimated almost 19 million tax returns had been filed from home computers so far this year, many of them using the Free File service.