File Your Federal Income Tax Return Electronically For Free (NAPSA)—Alot of Americans jumpyoverfiling their tax returns will be getting a nice jolt of comfort thanksto electronicfiling. If you’re one of the 95 million Americans who earns $52,000 or less a year—that’s 70 percent of all taxpayers—you maybe able to electronically file your taxes this year for free. And that would mean not only less chance for errors in preparing your return, but also a quicker refund. For the fifth straight year, Free File—a program offered in partnership with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Free File Alliance LLC, a group of industry-leading private-sector tax preparation companies—lets eligible taxpayers prepare and efile their federal income tax return at no charge. Although Free File is available only for federal income tax returns, some participating Free File Alliance companies also offer state tax return preparation and e-filing at no charge. Those services are noted in the Free File section of those companies’ Web sites. Easy To Use To date, more than 15.4 mil- lion people have prepared and submitted their federal tax returns through Free File. A recent survey showed that 96 percent of those who used the program found it “easy to use,” and 97 percent said they would ff’Va A program lets eligible taxpayers prepare and e-mail their federal income tax return at no charge. recommend it to others. “This survey confirms what we've known anecdotally for four years: Taxpayerslike Free File,” said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson. “This innovative pro- gram combines thebest of the private and public sectors to provide real value to taxpayers.” Here’s How Free File is fast, easy, and safe to use. To start, go to the IRS Web site—www.irs.gov—click on “Free File,” then press the “Start Now” button and choose a tax preparation company. To help you choose a company, there is an interactive tool to narrow your search. Then, simply click on the link to the selected company’s Web site and begin preparing your return. Free File is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The program is available in English and Spanish.
