It’s Not Too Late to Use These 5 Free Tax Filing Aids

Tax Day is now about one week out, falling on April 18 this year due to the weekend and a holiday.

Still, the Internal Revenue Service’s latest weekly filing statistics show the federal agency had received only about 93.7 million returns as of March 31 — 4.1 percent fewer than at the same time last year. That’s also less than two-thirds of the 153 million individual federal tax returns expected to be filed this year, according to data from WalletHub.

As we note in “5 Last-Minute Income Tax Filing Tips to Save You Money and Stress,” the problem with procrastinating on your taxes is:

“… the longer you wait, the more you increase the chance of making a mistake under pressure.”

So check out that article if you have yet to file your federal income taxes for 2016. It will walk you through the process step by step with tips for meeting the April 18 deadline confidently and accurately.

Additionally, the IRS reminded last-minute filers recently that it’s not too late to take advantage of free support:

1. IRS Free File, which refers to certain free tax preparation and filing programs available to folks who earned $64,000 or less last year.
2. IRS Free File Fillable Forms, the electronic version of IRS paper forms, which are for folks who earned more than $64,000 last year. Note that to use this option, unlike IRS Free File, you “must know how to do your taxes yourself,” the IRS says. Not sure if it’s for you? Check out “What You Must Know Before Doing Your Own Taxes.”
3. Community tax-help sites, where you can get free tax prep and filing help. To learn more, check out “Tax Hacks 2017: 7 Ways to Get Your Taxes Done for Free.”
4. The IRS’ toll-free help center. The agency announced recently that it has extended the center’s hours. So it will be available on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., callers’ local time, in addition to its weekday hours. Just note that the first two weeks of April are usually the busiest time of year for this telephone assistance — helpers who field thousands of calls every hour.
5. The IRS’ website. The agency notes that taxpayers can find answers to most questions here.

Are you a last-minute income tax filer? Let us know what helps you most by commenting below or on our Facebook page.