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macintologist · Feb 9, 2006, 06:02 PM

Ok I'm a student and this is the first time I'm filling my taxes.

I'm trying to go through the IRS website and just follow the instructions.

I choose to do the free e-file and after filling out all the basic info, they gave me a list of many websites that I can use for free to file my taxes electronically

TAX$IMPLE.com: Free federal online tax prep & e-file if your adjusted gross income is $29,000 or less. More details

TaxACT.com: Free federal online tax prep & e-file if your adjusted gross income is $50,000 or less and you live in AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, GA, HI, IA, ID, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, NE, ND, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, OR, RI, SC, UT, VA, VT, WI, or WV. Extensions e-filed for free. More details

EFILETAXRETURNS.NET: Free federal online tax prep & e-file if your adjusted gross income is $29,000 or less. More details

1040NOW.net Free File: Free federal online tax prep & e-file if your adjusted gross income is $50,000 or less and you live in AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, GA, HI, IA, ID, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MI, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, UT, VA, VT, WI, or WV. Extensions e-filed for free. More details

CompleteTax: Free federal online tax prep & e-file if your adjusted gross income is $29,000 or less. More details

FreeTaxReturns.com: Free federal online tax prep & e-file if your adjusted gross income is $50,000 or less and you live in AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MI, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, UT, VA, VT, WI, or WV. More details

TURBOTAX® FREE FILE: Free federal online tax prep & e-file if your adjusted gross income is $28,500 or less, or eligible for EITC, or active military duty with an adjusted gross income of $50,000 or less. More details

123Easytaxfiling.com: Free federal online tax prep & e-file if your adjusted gross income is $29,000 or less. More details

FileYourTaxes.com: Free federal online tax prep & e-file if your adjusted gross income is $50,000 or less and you live in AL, AZ, CA, CO, DE, GA, IL, KS, KY, LA, MD, MI, MO, MS, NC, NJ, NY, OH, OK, OR, WI, or you are age 18 or under. More details

TAXSLAYER.com: Free federal online tax prep & e-file if your adjusted gross income is $50,000 or less and you are age 25 or younger or 68 or older, or active in the military, or if you qualify for EITC. Extensions e-filed for free. More details

eSmartTax: Free federal online tax prep & e-file return if your adjusted gross income is $50,000 or less and you are between ages 19 and 53. Página de internet en español disponible! More details

H&R BLOCK'S TAXCUT: Free federal online tax prep & e-file if your adjusted gross income is $50,000 or less and you are age 50 or under. More details

ezTaxReturn.com: Free federal online tax prep & e-file return if your adjusted gross income is $50,000 or less and you are between ages 16 and 51. More details

I tried a couple of them, and they both required Internet Explorer.

Do any of you recommend a specific website for filing taxes that is Mac friendly? Remember it has to be a free service, IRS approved, and I'm just gonna file out of the 1040 EZ form or something like that.

ghporter · Feb 9, 2006, 06:12 PM

TurboTax doesn't require IE. Here's what they say about requirements:

Macintosh® Web Products
Processor: PowerPC® Processor
Mac OS X: Firefox 1.0, Netscape 7.x (or higher), Safari™ 1.x (or higher), AOL for Mac OS X (or higher)
Non-OS Requirements
Printing: Adobe® Acrobat® Reader® 5.0 or higher
Memory: 32 MB of RAM (64 MB recommended)
Modem speed: 28.8 Kbps for product use, 56K for videos in Deluxe and Premier products.
Monitor: 800 X 600 screen resolution recommended.
Flash: Macromedia Flash 7.0 (or higher).

I think th ePowerPC requirement is just so you don't try using something with an old 68000 processor...

Anyway, I've been using TurboTax since 1999, and it's always been very worthwhile.

jasonsRX7 · Feb 9, 2006, 06:36 PM

I use TurboTax online and it works fine with Safari. Doesn't give me any unsupported browser warnings either.

turtle777 · Feb 9, 2006, 06:37 PM

I have been using TurboTax for 3 years in a row.
I'm not a raving fan, but it does the job. Never bothered to look somewhere else.

the_glassman · Feb 9, 2006, 06:54 PM

I used Taxslayer using Safari and didn't have any problems. Camino however doesn't work.

BRussell · Feb 9, 2006, 07:05 PM

Another TurboTax here.

El Gato · Feb 9, 2006, 07:22 PM

Just finished my taxes using Turbo Tax on Safari last night.

The only problem that I had was at the end when it tried to display my tax return as a PDF in an iframe on the site - the federal return showed up fine, the state return didn't show up at all.

::shrug:: maybe it was just a glitch b/c everything else worked fine.

Railroader · Feb 9, 2006, 08:32 PM

TurboTax. Nothing special, but it does the job.

ghporter · Feb 9, 2006, 09:08 PM

I should also have mentioned that the process of "doing the taxes" with TurboTax takes the form of an "interview" where the application asks questions and you answer them until it gives you your results. TurboTax wound up finding some seriously helpful deductions over the years, and I thought I had been good at personal taxes.

mydog8mymac · Feb 9, 2006, 09:09 PM

I'm another Turbo Tax user. The big plus with e-filing is getting your refund check back so quickly if you file early.

I wish everyone a refund!

macintologist · Feb 9, 2006, 09:43 PM

I'm getting $13 dollars back

DigitalEl · Feb 9, 2006, 09:56 PM

TurboTax. Nothing special, but it does the job.

Sure does. Been using TurboTax for the past 4 or 5 years now. No real problems. And it's nice having a .pdf of your entire return at the end (in addition to the thick folder of paper you're supposed to keep for X number of years).

Even on a G5 iMac with 1.5 GB of RAM and a high-speed cable Internet connection, TurboTax, ahem, taxes my system. I've never heard the fan come on as much as it did doing my taxes the other day. I also see the spinning beachball from time to time as TurboTax switches screens, after you save something, for example. Still, it's highly usable and easy as pie.

SirCastor · Feb 10, 2006, 12:14 AM

Another vote for TurboTax Web, it was painless except for the taxes part, the tech side couldn't have been easier.

zanyterp · Feb 10, 2006, 02:39 AM

ditto for turbotax online. the beachball does come on and there is a noticeable delay when used (on my eMac G4 1GHz; 512MB)....but last year and this year got me ~2-3k more than i would have received if i were to do it myself.

el gato: how did you get your return (the forms themselves) to display in safari?