E-filing your income tax return

E-filing Your Income Tax Returns

What is e-file?

E-file is short for electronic filing, or, filing your tax returns using a computer. The IRS does not yet have its own vehicle for filing electronically. There are many online services through which you can file your federal and state tax returns online for a fee. This fee must be paid either by credit card or by debiting your checking account. We encourage you to read the statement from the IRS on its e-file partnerships. Certain taxpayers (as many as 60% of us) will be able to file their taxes free online through an arrangement by the IRS with a consortium of private tax preparers. Visit the IRS Free File information page. Check the IRS for the latest information on IRS e-file programs in development.

An advantage of e-filing is that you generally get your refund quicker and you can have it directly deposited into your checking or savings account. For some filers it may be easier to e-file than to use the paper forms. This is especially true if you have computer and Internet experience. Those with little or no computer experience will likely not find the e-file process any easier. Introducing unfamiliar procedures may, in fact, exacerbate the process.

Can I file my tax returns using the Library's computers?

The Library does not have any tax preparation software products on any of its PCs. Further, these products are not available for loan from the collection. Examples of tax preparation software products are Block Financial's Kiplinger TaxCut, Intuit's TurboTax, Second Story Software's TaxAct, and Microsoft's TaxSaver.

You can file your taxes using the Library's computers and one of the online services that have partnered with the IRS, but before you attempt to do so, you should seriously consider the following:

1. There is a time limit on our public computers. If your time limit is up and someone else is waiting, you will not be able to continue working even if you are in the middle of your return. Many of the online filing services will let you save your work and return to it later, but doing so properly is your responsibility.

2. We cannot guarantee the reliability of our public computers or our connection to the Internet. We try hard to keep our computers working properly, but sometimes computers don't work properly. The Library cannot and will not be held liable for any problems you may have, or losses or penalties you may incur, directly or indirectly arising from the use of our computers.

3. Our computers are used by many people each day. We cannot guarantee that data you input in one of our computers will not be accessible by someone else at a later time. E-filing requires a significant amount of personal information (name, social security number, salary, etc.) which you might not want available to others.

4. The Library staff is unable to offer you assistance with your tax returns. We are not tax professionals. Please do not ask us for tax advice. We will help you with such matters as locating a particular tax form, publication or ruling. We cannot advise you as to which tax form to use or what information applies to your situation. If you are attempting to e-file on one of our computers and the computer malfunctions, we can try to fix the computer, but we cannot answer any questions related to your tax returns.

Millions of Americans are e-filing their tax returns each year. For many, it is making tax time less of a headache. We know it is a cost and time saver for the IRS since they have set as a goal having 80% of returns filed electronically by 2007. We encourage you to look into e-filing to see if it would be beneficial to you. However, we simply cannot recommend that you attempt to file your tax returns on Library computers.

Reprinted in part from a publication of the Public Library of Mt. Vernon and Knox County.