Ann Carrns writes on The New York Times: “This year, there are numerous ways to prepare and file income tax returns free of charge — but the variety of features and qualifying criteria is dizzying. So it is important for filers to slow down and make sure the programs they choose are really the ones they want. The Internal Revenue Service continues to offer the Free File program — online, do-it-yourself tax preparation software from a dozen commercial vendors — to low- and moderate-income filers. (Generally, this refers to people who earn less than $64,000, although some companies set lower limits.) The online software is made available free to eligible tax filers under an agreement between the I.R.S. and the Free File Alliance, a group of major tax preparation providers that includes Intuit, the maker of TurboTax; H&R Block; and TaxAct. About 100 million people are eligible to use Free File, but only about three million do each year, said Tim Hugo, the alliance’s executive director. The disparity, he said, may be a result of the I.R.S.’s lack of an advertising budget.” (nytimes.com)
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