Tax Forms File

The IRS is online, so it's easy to find all current IRS publications at their Website. Additionally, city libraries and U.S. Postal Service offices frequently stock the most commonly used forms. And, if you need help figuring out what form(s) you need, you can always wander in to your nearest IRS office and simply ask. All of these alternatives beat being rooked by Websites offering tax forms for sale. For instance, BusinessRegister carries "approved" tax forms, federal, state and local, at 10% off and free shipping over $50. Don't get taken for a ride. Federal tax forms are free. As they should be.

As for filling out a tax form, it needn't necessarily send you screaming to H & R Block. Sure, the language is deliberately confusing, but didn't you go to college to learn how to read? Okay, forget it and make an appointment with the Block organization.

Maybe you'd prefer to muddle through online. The IRS has made that option available by partnering with two different companies that can process federal tax payments. Go online and look up OfficialPayments.com and Pay1040.com. Payment can be made with either a debit or credit card. The catch here is that both companies charge a fee, which is a percentage of what you owe the IRS.

Strangely enough, Form 1040 has been in use since the beginning of the current Income Tax Era. It's had many revisions since 1917, of course, but no one's come up with a convincing reason to change its name. Those who need to file 1040s include U.S. citizens, permanent resident aliens (those holding Green Cards), and resident aliens.

A wealth of Websites exist that promise to make your tax filing next to painless. (Bear in mind, however, that teeth filing comes directly after tax filing in some "sounds like" lists.) Plus, there are a bunch of programs you can buy and install, the most well-known being TurboTax, permitting you to figure everything out offline in the privacy of your personal office space, so no one will hear your outraged shouts of surprise at finding all those little loopholes now closed forever.

Per the IRS: A personal representative (fiduciary) is responsible for filing the tax forms of a person who has died. Isn't that incredible? What are they going to do to you if this somehow fails to happen? Dig you up and put you back to work?

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