Tax preparation has deep roots in the paper, pencil and calculator days. However, tax preparation has new roots rapidly growing on the vine over the internet. Paper, pencil and calculators are being erased for keyboards, computer screens and auto compute tools. Tax preparation has now become easier and cheaper to do even though the tax code has become harder to understand. As government officials add to the complexity of taxes, the private officials in tax preparation software take the complexity out of tax preparation with online tax preparation programs and tax software.
TurboTax Online is a leading tax preparation program that is making the erasure marks on traditional tax preparation. TurboTax Online takes the complexity out of tax preparation with interview style questions, organized categories of tax related issues, online tax help and guidance, error checks and a major league style scoreboard that tallies up on the computer screen the amount of a taxpayer’s refund or tax amount owed to the IRS.
TurboTax Online throws out the old habits of tax preparation that called for flipping through a printed paper catalog of tax charts, tax explanations and tax forms for a better way to prepare taxes. TurboTax Online ushers in new tax preparation habits with keyboard typing, mouse clicking and automatic tax calculations.
TurboTax Online allows taxpayers the convenience of tax preparation by allowing a tax payer to prepare a tax return at a pace and place that suits them. The pace of preparing a tax return can be slow if a taxpayer needs time to find documents or is waiting on certain documents to arrive to them, such as a late arriving W-2 or 1099. Tax preparation can be put on hold with TurboTax Online because the tax preparation program automatically saves the tax data when it is entered into the tax preparation software. TurboTax Online allows taxpayers the option to enter tax data as they get it because tax payers can log on and off of TurboTax Online as many times as needed until the tax return is completed and ready to be filed with the IRS.
TurboTax Online also allows a taxpayer the option to move at a faster pace when preparing their tax return if the taxpayer is in a hurry and needs a tax return prepared right away. A taxpayer who has all of their tax documents and is ready to prepare the tax return, can log onto TurboTax Online and complete a tax return in one online tax session. A completed tax return can be done in less than one hour using TurboTax Online. Once a tax return is completed, the tax return can then be electronically filed to the IRS from the computer in which the taxpayer prepared the tax return. An electronically filed tax return has many benefits including a faster refund. An electronically filed tax return with a tax refund due to a taxpayer can be directly deposited into the bank account of a taxpayer in about 10 days. An electronically filed tax return also helps insure the accuracy of the tax return because the IRS e-file checking system looks for errors among such items as a taxpayer’s social security number, and dependant birthdates. The IRS e-file system rejects tax returns where the name and social security numbers of a taxpayer do not match.
TurboTax Online also allows taxpayers the added convenience of completing their tax returns at home, the office, the coffee shop, the library, the home of a friend or anywhere that a taxpayer has computer access to the internet. TurboTax Online is a pajama program because it allows taxpayers to sit at home in their pajamas and do their taxes. A trip to the library or coffee house to do taxes may require a taxpayer to slip on a pair of blue jeans and t-shirt.
As with any do it yourself project, a cost savings is one of the benefits of sweating out the laborious task on your own. A taxpayer who has their taxes done at a retail location, such as a franchise type of tax preparing company, will cost the taxpayer considerably more money for a tax return than a tax return prepared with a do it yourself tax software program like TurboTax Online. The difference in price of a do it yourself tax software program to that of a retail or store location can be more than one hundred dollars for a tax return. Quite often, the cost of having a tax return done at a retail store location is two hundred dollars. Add that cost savings to the amount of the tax refund and it can be the difference in eating a cheeseburger or steak for dinner.