Action 9: Free Filing Options Can Save Money When Preparing Taxes

If you’re tired of paying someone to do your taxes, there are lots of free filing options that can help you save money.

Paying someone else to prepare taxes makes a lot of sense for people whose returns are complicated. Sara Norkum said she doesn't mind shelling out $150 to a tax professional.

“If they know what they're doing, I'd rather them do it and figure out my tax deductions and all that stuff,” she said.

But people who don't itemize or claim deductions and earn under $100,000 a year can save lots of money doing their taxes themselves.

Thanks to technology, filing your own taxes is easier than ever. You can now use a Smartphone to file your taxes by downloading a free mobile application called Snap Tax by Turbo Tax, which is a leading software company. After you complete your returns using your phone, you pay $14.99 to e-file your federal and state taxes.

There are other ways to e-file that cost absolutely nothing, like IRS Free File. It’s the government’s way of saving money and reducing taxpayer errors at the same time.

There are no income restrictions for filing online using free editions of Turbo Tax and H&R Block at home, but they do limit you to filing a 1040EZ form or a simple tax return with no itemized deductions.

Action 9’s Don Griffin said the catch to using a free program is fending off lots of pitches from tax software companies to upgrade to a paid product.