(*all underlined items are hyperlinked to the source so you can double check anything I say. It is important to listen, but it is even more important to verify. The motto of my father [RIP Pops], was trust but verify, and I strive to preserve that motto here at the Tax Network*)
Most people do not seem to be aware of this, but anyone making under $73,000 can file their federal taxes for free online. By the IRS’s own estimate, this covers about 70% of all taxpayers. People may have heard about free filings, but whenever you go to a company’s website to file online, it always seem to somehow cost money. This is not by accident.
Intuit, the owner of Turbo Tax (and other companies), intentionally make it difficult to get these free online filings. They made it so difficult that the FTC actually sued Intuit for Its Deceptive TurboTax “free” Filing Campaign, and Inuit was also forced to pay $140M for taking advantage of low income filers by “unfairly charging them” when it should have been free according to Intuit’s agreements with the IRS. However, no need to fear their tricks. Your friendly neighborhood tax nerd is here to help you navigate these bureaucratic waters and get you that free filing you deserve from these tax companies (granted it will not be Turbo tax because they no longer participate with the IRS to offer free filings).
Before we move on, if anyone from Intuit or any other tax prep company is reading this, I am more than happy to take this down for large sums of money. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s get back to it.
If an individual makes less than $73,000 ($73k limit applies whether filing single or married unfortunately), the IRS allows you to file your federal taxes for free online with some of the largest tax prep companies. You can browse all of the companies and their options here. The 8 available companies that partner with the IRS to file federal income tax returns for free are:
These companies cannot charge you for any of this work, they must disclose if they charge for state filings, and they cannot sell or release your information (without consent), as noted on the IRS’s own website:
Ok we get it, it’s free. So how do we get it? To get the free filing, you need to:
Begin your filing option at IRS.gov. Going directly to a company’s website will result in not receiving the benefits offered here.
Choose an IRS Free File option, guided tax preparation or Free File Fillable Forms.
You will be directed to the IRS partner’s website to create a new account or if you are a previous user, log in to an existing account.
Prepare and e-file your federal tax return.
Receive an email when the IRS has accepted your return.
Unfortunately, while 70% of Americans qualify for this free service, studies show only 3% actually use it. My goal is to increase that number and bring a little extra income to the average American family, so please share this post with others and get the information out.
If you have any questions or comments on this article or on what you would like to see discussed in future posts, please reach out and provide us your thoughts!