Taxpayers who owe $64,000 or less can file their income taxes for free. IRS officials say their Free File partnership makes doing so an option for 70 percent of taxpayers.
The agency estimates that since 2003, the 50 million taxpayers who used this free tax service saved approximately $1.5 billion based on a conservative estimate of $30 per tax software product.
Free File is available exclusively at www.irs.gov/freefile. Several products offer both free federal and free state return preparation. Each software provider sets its own eligibility standards but anyone who made $64,000 or less will find at least one product to use. Taxpayers can easily find their match by using the Free File Software Lookup Tool.
New this year, Free File web pages have been optimized for smart phone and tablet use. This means taxpayers can use their phones or their tablets to prepare and file their taxes just as they can with their computers. And, IRS2Go, the mobile app available for download, provides an easy means for taxpayers to access Free File and file their returns. Also for this year, active duty military personnel who earn $64,000 or less can choose any of the dozen Free File products regardless of the providers’ eligibility standards.
All taxpayers who want to file an extension can use Free File to submit Form 4868. Just look for the “request an extension” link at the top of the Free File main page. This is a six-month extension to file a tax return, not to pay. If additional tax is owed, it must be paid by April 18.
Regardless of which free file service you use, IRS officials remind taxpayers to save a copy of their federal tax return and supporting documents. Keep them in a safe and secure location, or make sure they are encrypted if they are stored digitally.
