TurboTax Online

Need to do your taxes in a hurry?  Check out TurboTax Online!

I have been using TurboTax online for the last four years, since my Accountant died unexpectedly.  And it has been a real life-saver.

Unlike the software package that you used to have to buy, now you can just go online to their website, fill out the forms (it will walk you through and ask questions, if you are not sure how to do your taxes) and then you can watch it calculate your refund or how much you owe.

This is, by the way, an example of "cloud computing" - no software to "install" or maintain or upgrade over time!

If you are thinking about how much contributing to your IRA will affect your taxes, TurboTax lets you "plug in" the numbers and you can see your tax bill drop in real time.

The best thing of all is that it is FREE and you don't have to pay until you file electronically.  If you are really cheap, I suppose you could go online, do the taxes and then enter the data manually on forms.  But frankly, they do such a nice job and the fees are so reasonable, why bother?

Best of all, your forms are filed electronically - no last-minute rush to the Post Office on April 15th!

And your refund - or payment - can be made electronically using ACH debit or credit.

Pretty painless, and yet so many folks are haunting the local library looking for a Schedule C to fill out....