Day 16: Save Money on Tax Preparation

Now that all those W-2s are starting to roll in, it's time to start thinking about tax season. So many people miss out on important money saving deductions when they're preparing their taxes themselves, but can't or don't want to pay a professional tax preparer.

These software programs walk you through step by step, asking a series of questions aimed to determine whether you qualify for specific deductions and credits. The programs also generally go through to check for errors Last year we used TurboTax to do our taxes and saved over $2000 compared to our local walk-in tax preparer's estimate.

Enter free tax preparation help. If you're looking for help filing your personal income tax forms, specifically if you qualify for a Form 1040EZ, you can find free help for preparing your taxes.

• TurboTax: Free for preparing Simple Returns and Form 1040EZ for federal taxes
• TaxAct: Offers free federal tax preparation software for e-filing
• H&R Block: Offers a free tax preparation version
• Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program: provides tax assistance for those with low to moderate income who qualify

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