Free online tax program?

[daughtersrus]

My FIL has asked me to do his taxes. I'm not a CPA but have done ours for years.

Anyway, I'm having a problem finding a free online site that I can use because every time I get to the point of entering a 1099-MISC for royalties for income from oil wells (VERY small amount of money), it tells me that I need to upgrade and pay a fee for the program. Are there any free programs that I can use?

 

[squeegee]

Go to irs.gov, and follow their links for free e-filing. There is even a "quiz" that will help you find the right program. There are income limits to using a free program, but it's a good place to start.

 

[kj2mom]

Tax Act was free for me to use, free for me to file federal but there was a small fee to file my state. I had a 1099 and was still able to use the free program.

 

[ktate82]

We always use free tax usa. It's free to file federally and state is usually between $10-13.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

If you or your FIL is a member of USAA, they have free filing.

 

[MAO]

Start with the IRS website. And if, for whatever reason, the free ones they offer links to don't work for you, go to freefilefillableforms.com. It's what I've used for years and I live off dividends, pension and royalties. Particularly if you've done your own taxes for years it's really simple. The only problem is that it's for federal use only, so you'll have to go to the state website and get their forms - but most states now have similar fill-in forms, many of which do the math for you on calculated fields, so it's really not that big of a deal.

eta: as intimated in the name, it's free to file with the federal site I linked to, above. You'll probably have to print out and mail in your state return, though it may be possible to file your state return electronically as well.

 

[ricosuave]

I've used taxact.com for years

 

[bigmamimia]

I always use taxact.com as well.