Only four days ago I summarized ProPublica's past efforts to smear income tax software vendor Intuit, maker of TurboTax. This was done without trying to inform readers about how to file for free. ProPublica has done the latter here, finally!
Kudos to them. Regardless, their article missed three ways.
1. There is no mention of AARP Tax Aide. This service's target clients are low- and moderate-income taxpayers and, of course, those who are retired. The criteria they use to decide who they can file for and who they can't aren't as simple as the other free services. It's based on specific IRS Forms, sometimes specific sections or lines on such Forms, and the filer's specific data. The service is in person. Trained volunteers at the sites file online for you. You need to call to make an appointment.
2. There is no mention of the IRS's Free File Fillable Forms. I can only give a "signpost" to the Forms now since the IRS is not allowing filing yet. Regardless, the signpost page gives some info about the capabilities and limitations. The programs in the Free File Program (or Alliance) guide the user's input and complete the tax forms in background, but this one does not. Generally speaking, you need to know what IRS Forms you need and have the ability to do the job almost like using the IRS's paper Forms directly. Like the signpost page says, it won't help you file a state return.
3. There is no mention of CreditKarma. It is not part of the Free File Alliance, but it is as easy to use as the programs on the Free File Alliance and without their limitations.
No comments:
Post a Comment