(NAPSA)—If your kitchen table is covered in mountainsof receipts and tax forms with menacing codes such as SS-10, CT-2 and everyone’s favorite, W3-CPR, you're not alone. But the challenges of tax preparation that lead many to the brink of needing the real CPR are now a lot less daunting, thanks to the wealth of free help now available on the Internet. One Web site in particular, MSN MoneyCentral, provides guides that explain recent tax law changes and step-by-step tax planning tips in everyday terms. The site also includes practical articles, such as “Top 7 Taxpayer Mistakes” and “Strategies that Don’t Work.” There are also tax tools that take the guesswork out of filing as well as a Tax Estimator which tells you roughly how much you will receive or pay this year. A Deduction Finder helps you hunt down ways to reduce your tax bill. Visitors to the Web site can even prepare their returns andfile online through a link to H&R Block’s Website. Professional tax-preparer Julie Treece is all for her clients reading the articles and using the planning tools on these Web sites to educate themselves before seeking herassistance. Your tax bill and your tax preparation time may be lower thanksto tax tools on the Web. “When people have a good base of knowledge, it is easier for me to help them get the best possible tax return,” said Treece, a certified public accountant for 11 years. There’s no shortageof tax experience on the Web. A crew of tax authorities writes the MSN MoneyCentral columns and articles. “The tools people can get on the site would cost $50 to $100 an hour anywhere else—or as much as $500 an hour from a tax specialist,” said tax attorney and best-selling author Jeff Schnepper, who hosts MoneyCentral’s Tax Cornerforum. “Hereit’s free.” For more information about MoneyCentral’s tax services visit http://moneycentral.msn.com/tax/ home.asp.
