If your Adjusted Gross Income(AGI) is $58,000 or less then you may qualify to the IRS Free File. A partnership between the IRS and a group of tax software companies developed the IRS Free File. There are 20 tax software companies that make their tax services available for free. To access and to use this free online tax filing service you are required to click the IRS.gov website where you will be able freely access the application to enable you to free file. You can Free File from the participating company’s website.

It’s Very Easy and Just Complete One Page

If you know you want to e-file then you should compute your tax status now,  to see if you will receive an IRS refund or State refund. You can do this by simply entering your wage and tax information into one of the user friendly tax forms of any of the well known online tax preparation service cloud based companies.

A Short Review of Free Online Tax Filing

You must have Adjusted Gross Income(AGI) of $58,000 or less to qualify to IRS Free File. Each of the participating companies sets their own criteria to use their free file so you need to read the criteria. To save you time, you should use the IRS free tax software matching service, called “Free File: Help Me Find A Free File Company”. It’s a simple screening service that asks you questions and then matches your needs to the services offered by the 20 participating companies. You should review the participating company’s criteria before you decide. If after this process or after a few minutes using the tax service at the participating company’s website you are not happy with your selection, just log off and find another participating company.A similar approach should be used if you do not like the look, feel and use of the tax software. It is as easy as logging on and then logging off, if you are not happy with the company you selected.

You will be charged an additional fee to prepare and file your state income tax return.Besides the Free File for the federal income tax return, some of these companies may offer free state filings. Many of these online companies offer free or very low prices for the Federal tax return, but as you answer more questions you may find out that you no longer qualify for the free or the least expensive advertised federal income tax return. These companies make additional fees as your returns becomes more complex and they charge you to prepare and file a state income tax return as well as answer your tax based questions.

You should use the web based software to use the Free File and not select the downloaded tax file for purchase. Just keep it simple and use the web based software.

Track your Refund

You can track your refund with three easy choices. Either you can use the refund tracking option provided by the participating company, or you can link over to the IRS website and use their tool called “Where’s MY refund” or you use the new app for the I-phone recently released by the IRS. There are several IRS tracking tools being sold at the App Store,so make sure you use the free App called “IRS2Go”. This App can track your refund, has limited utility and connects your with electronic IRS tax updates. By the way, if you e-file, your refund should take about 10 days to receive.

If  you are ready to e-File  consider reading my review of 4 well known participating companies at my website. If you are also ready to self-prepare your income tax return, or want to hire a CPA or tax preparer for a complex tax form, please start early and get your refund working for you, and don’t wait until early April.