According to the IRS web site, the efile service rolled out nationally in 1990 and delivered 4.2 million income tax returns. Last year the IRS efile service delivered over 95 million income tax returns or about 66% of all filed tax returns.

The free tax software found on our web site can be used to efile your IRS tax forms online or through the purchase of premium software. To get your income tax refund as fast as possible, choose the direct deposit option. The leading income tax software providers H&R Block, Turbo Tax, and Tax Act are quoting 8 days as the number of days to receive your IRS tax refund using the direct deposit option. The IRS states “in as few as 10 days” on their web site.

In contrast if you are planning to mail in your IRS tax refund and receive an IRS refund check by mail, that could take up to 6 weeks! For sure it is much faster to efile.

This year even more income tax payers can prepare and efile their federal income tax return for free using Turbo Tax and Tax Cut online. Avoid mistakes and file your income tax return faster by using one of these top rated income tax preparation software programs.

TaxAct has been providing free IRS tax filing for the past 10 years.  No matter your income tax situation, married, single, easy, or complex, TaxAct Free IRS federal tax return preparation software has you covered. Free TaxAct means that you can:

• Prepare your IRS tax return FREE
• Print your IRS tax return FREE
• Efile your IRS tax return FREE
• No income restrictions

Upgrade if you like to TaxAct Deluxe or TaxAct Ultimate editions, however, TaxAct Free edition is fully functional, includes the Deduction Examiner and walk-through videos. It costs nothing to try out TaxAct Free online, and this tax software is also available for download and CD by mail. Visit our TaxAct Free web page to learn more or to get started.

IRS e-file program began as a pilot project in just 3 cities back in 1986 with just 25,000 tax returns filed electronically that year. Each year the number of tax payers choosing e-file continues to grow, with almost 90 million IRS tax returns e-filed last year according to published IRS statistics.

Among a dozen other things, the IRS also said the following today:

“…the error rate is so low for e-filed returns. In fact, the error rate is significantly reduced from 20 percent with paper returns to about 1 percent with e-filed returns.”

“Taxpayers who use e-file and who choose direct deposit can receive their refund in as few as 10 days. That’s because with e-file, there’s no paper return going to the IRS. And with direct deposit, there’s no paper refund going to the taxpayer.”

So not only does e-file deliver your income tax refund money faster than mail in tax forms,  those who e-file usually don’t make any errors. No doubt that income tax preparation software is partly responsible for the reduction in tax form errors. And we must note also that Turbo Tax and Tax Cut are quoting “in as few as 8 days” as the number of days for which you can receive your IRS income tax refund.

TaxCut Free makes it quick and easy to prepare your form 1040EZ income tax refund, automatically checks for errors, and carries an accurate calculations guarantee just like the rest of the H&R Block income tax preparation services.

If you have a more complex income tax filing for 2008 and need tax form help and advice, try H&R Block Signature from $79.95. H&R Block Signature allows you to prepare your income tax return online with the help and support of an H&R Block tax professional. Complete the income tax return yourself online, then, an H&R Block income tax professional will review, comment, edit, sign, and efile your 2008 income tax return for you.

Didn’t file your 1040EZ tax refund or payment due in 2007 or even 2006? H&R Block Signature tax professionals can consult and help you file past year income tax returns as well. Visit our TaxCut and H&R Block tax service review web pages for more information.

• Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number
• Filing status (Single, Married Filing Joint Return, etc.)
• Exact whole dollar amount of your IRS tax refund

In general you can access information about your IRS tax refund 72 hours after the IRS acknowledges receipt of your e-file tax return. If you e-file online using Turbo Tax Free, Tax Cut Free, Tax Act, H&R Block or any other income tax e-file service, first log into your account from the service provider’s web site to ensure that your e-file was in fact processed. While rare, there are instances where an e-file is rejected. Your IRS e-file service provider will generally alert you by email or post a message in your account to inform you of the status of your e-file.

If you mail in your income tax return, you can generally access your IRS tax refund information in three to four weeks after the mailing date.

After the wait period, visit www.irs.gov and click on the “Where’s My Refund?” image on the right side menu to get started. Enter the required information into the IRS web form and view your results.

There are just a few guidelines outlining who is eligible for the Taxpayer Advocate Service. Tax payers may be eligible for free advocate assistance if the following problems arise:

• Experiencing economic harm or significant cost including fees for professional representation
• Experiencing a delay of more than 30 days to resolve a tax issue
• Have not received a response or resolution to the problem by the date that was promised by the IRS

Taxpayer Advocate Service is free and confidential, and is available for both businesses and individuals. Think of it as a group of independent IRS employees who can listen to your problem, help you understand what needs to be done to resolve the problem, and stay with you until the problem is resolved.

If you are experiencing economic harm, significant cost, or experiencing excessive delays in resolving an IRS issue and wish to contact the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service here is how to:

• Call the toll free case intake line at 1-877-777-4778 or TTY/TTD 1-800-829-4059
• Call or write to a local Taxpayer Advocate, whose address and telephone number are listed in the government listings of the local telephone directory and in IRS Pub 1546
• File Form 911 Application for Taxpayer Assistance Order

For more information on the Taxpayer Advocate Service please visit www.irs.gov/advocate

Free E-File, not to be confused with IRS Free File, technically means that the electronic transmission of your income tax return is free. This tax year many of the income tax preparation service providers have increase their free service offerings to include free tax preparation along with their free e-filing service. What this all means is that if you like Turbo Tax or Tax Cut, they too offer free e-file and tax form preparation services in a software product that you may prefer over the IRS Free File product. It costs nothing to try Turbo Tax Free, Tax Cut Free, and new for this year Quicken Free which bundles well with Turbo Tax.

-Income Tax Pro

-Income Tax Pro