Free Tax Filing

You can sense it...a changing of the seasons.  Christmas cards in the mailbox have been replaced by 1099's.  The Salvation Army bell ringers have been replaced by the Liberty Tax ladies.  Yes, it's Tax Season. Those who find the realization of tax time cringe-inducing can take solace in this:  some of us may be able to file electronically for free.

New this year, the Virginia Department of Taxation is offering tax forms that can be filled out online and filed for free.  It's not the same as the popular and free Virginia iFile system that the legislature and Governor McDonnell abolished in 2010, but still, it's free.  State officials say the Free File Fillable Forms system is open to everyone, regardless of filing status or income level.  Learn more here.

On the federal level, the IRS's e-file is back this year.  Families with incomes below $57,000 a year can use the system for free.  And, the IRS is offering Free File Fillable Forms, just like Virginia's, for federal tax returns.  Federal Free File Fillable Forms (say that three times fast) are free for everyone.  Learn more here.

By the way, this year's Federal Income Tax filing deadline has been extended to Monday, April 17th, since April 15th falls on a Saturday.  The Virginia filing deadline is Tuesday, May 1st.