Taxes, taxes! I'm out of the loop!

[Geonz]

So... I'm gonna do that stuff and somebody had told me that now it was free to do taxes on line
... boy, does it set off my radar to go to "a company" and put that information in! I get the feeling I am supposed to know a few more things before I start messing with it... I'm wondering whether I should just get out the paper and pencil instead...

[TsPoet]

I've been using Turbo Tax on-line for about 8 years now. Before that I went to H&R - I've always been afraid to do my own. I've been really happy with Turbo. It guides you through each step and tells you what's going on, unlike H&R. If you've got everything you need, then all you need is Turbo Tax and you are done. Get it on-line, though, don't go buy it from a store.
There are other brands, I imagine they are all variations on a theme and equally good, Turbo is just what I've used and I've always been happy with it.
I assume your friend meant free as far as the gov't was concerned, most of the companies like turbo charge you for their product. Turbo claims to have a free version, but I think that's only if you have very very basic tax reporting needs. IMHO, the $35 is worth the piece of mind to me.

[Geonz]

No, I mean FREE - links from the IRS site to sites that have the forms and do the calculations. There's a whole list of 'em. You have to have income less than 56,000 - but hte one I clicked on will even do the business form C. ( http://citizentaxfree.com/ )

But you're right about $35 ... and online would mean I could get it now

[Zen]

I've been using TaxAct for three years now and I'm very happy with it.

My taxes are fairly simple but these sites/programs are pretty much idiot proof.

[salsabike]

Turbo Tax is excellent. The IRS used to make you pay to file online--I think this is the first year they're doing it without a fee. That's what we did this year. Turbo Tax and online filing.

[Pax]

No, I mean FREE - links from the IRS site to sites that have the forms and do the calculations. There's a whole list of 'em. You have to have income less than 56,000 - but hte one I clicked on will even do the business form C. ( http://citizentaxfree.com/ )

But you're right about $35 ... and online would mean I could get it now

Free is for your Federal return only, the State will run you around $14. Like Zen, I use TaxAct and it works just fine.

[msincredible]

I've been using TaxAct for three years now and I'm very happy with it.

My taxes are fairly simple but these sites/programs are pretty much idiot proof.

I use TaxAct as well and my taxes include interest/dividends, capital gains/losses, and itemized deductions. I've been happy with it.

[smurfalicious]

Oh gosh while we're on the subject, I have a conundrum. I was done with my taxes, was. Then mom said T-Mobile sent me a W-2. Erm? I haven't worked there since Nov '07 when I moved to Colorado. Anyway, I guess it's related to the incentives program there and I "earned" $75 in 2008. They do this gross up thing so we don't pay tax on our incentives, and apparently the program year runs through October or November so this is to offset anything I cashed out in incentives after that.

So do I have to file in Oregon now too? Or do I just add this to my Colorado return? I am most confused.