To clear up anything that may be confusing people :) I know this may be the first year several of you are filing and may be nervous or not know all the info that is out there or where to start. It's ok, it's not that scary and you CAN do it yourself online with confidence :) If not, there are professionals there to help with your specific questions...or there are always all of us here too.

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TurboTax has the free edition (for military) as TaxFreedom. This service is not available for use until mid January according to the website at:
http://turbotax.intuit.com/taxfreedom


Military OneSource has the free edition (for military) through H&R Block at Home® electronic tax filing product. this service is not available for use until 17 January. You access this free edition THROUGH Military OneSource's website ONLY! www.militaryonesource.com

Basic non-military free versions for 2010 FEDERAL e-filing at H&R Block, TaxAct and TurboTax are currently up and running.

I am getting a message saying that EIC, Child Tax Credit and most other common deduction forms are not available to e-file with until 6 Jan. I'll let you know if I get them to go through on the 6th...just so you all know :)

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Personal views on the differences of programs...
I prefer TurboTax WAY more than the simplicity of TaxAct. TurboTax focuses on military specific questions that just make you feel better about covering. The step by step questions are more in depth with TurboTax as well. If you REALLY know what you are doing already, either one is perfectly fine, if you are a first timer...avoid TaxAct. I came up with the exact same amount of refund using both programs.
I did not play with H&R Block at all this year, but if I remember correctly they fell along the lines more of TurboTax with specific questions and guidance that was more reassuring than TaxAct.

I hope this information helps someone out there in some way! 

on TurboTax, do they ask about education and student loans, because I know there is a credit for that?

Also how long did it take for you to receive your return? 

Yes they do Mamma Tia

It takes 1.5-2 weeks for direct deposit from e-file 

not bad. so i'd just wait till the 24th when the w2 is available on mypay and then go to that website and do the free version? 

i have used HR block online, Turbotax and taxact. I prefer Turbotax, although Taxact was easy too. If i can file online, anyone can!! it literally tells you what to enter from what block, etc. I love filing online and it saves the $200 or so they take for filing for you! 

Yes, education credits are covered in detail as well.

The IRS is not processing any returns until the 14th. With efile your return is expected in as LITTLE AS 8 days AFTER THE IRS accepts the return. 

I'm with Kelly. Ever since filing with the military version of turbotax last year I found it much more involved that taxact. Taxact is great for general efiles that do not have a lot of deductions ect, however, if you know what you are doing either is great as Kelly said. 

BTW here is something from the IRS website about who needs to wait to file


Who Must Wait to File

For most taxpayers, the 2011 tax filing season starts on schedule. However, tax law changes enacted by Congress and signed by President Obama in December mean some people need to wait until mid- to late February to file their tax returns in order to give the IRS time to reprogram its processing systems.

Some taxpayers – including those who itemize deductions on Form 1040 Schedule A – will need to wait to file. This includes taxpayers impacted by any of three tax provisions that expired at the end of 2009 and were renewed by the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act Of 2010 enacted Dec. 17. Those who need to wait to file include:

*Taxpayers Claiming Itemized Deductions on Schedule A. Itemized deductions include mortgage interest, charitable deductions, medical and dental expenses as well as state and local taxes. In addition, itemized deductions include the state and local general sales tax deduction that was also extended and which primarily benefits people living in areas without state and local income taxes. Because of late Congressional action to enact tax law changes, anyone who itemizes and files a Schedule A will need to wait to file until mid- to late February.

*Taxpayers Claiming the Higher Education Tuition and Fees Deduction. This deduction for parents and students – covering up to $4,000 of tuition and fees paid to a post-secondary institution – is claimed on Form 8917. However, the IRS emphasized that there will be no delays for millions of parents and students who claim other education credits, including the American Opportunity Tax Credit extended last month and the Lifetime Learning Credit.
*Taxpayers Claiming the Educator Expense Deduction. This deduction is for kindergarten through grade 12 educators with out-of-pocket classroom expenses of up to $250. The educator expense deduction is claimed on Form 1040, Line 23 and Form 1040A, Line 16.


In addition to extending those tax deductions for 2010, the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act also extended those deductions for 2011 and a number of other tax deductions and credits for 2011 and 2012 such as the American Opportunity Tax Credit and the modified Child Tax Credit, which help families pay for college and other child-related expenses. The Act also provides various job creation and investment incentives including 100 percent expensing and a two-percent payroll tax reduction for 2011. Those changes have no effect on the 2011 filing season.

The IRS will announce a specific date in the near future when it can start processing tax returns impacted by the recent tax law changes. In the interim, taxpayers affected by these tax law changes can start working on their tax returns, but they should not submit their returns until IRS systems are ready to process the new tax law changes. Additional information will be available at www.IRS.gov.

For taxpayers who must wait before filing, the delay affects both paper filers and electronic filers. The IRS urges taxpayers to use e-file instead of paper tax forms to minimize confusion over the recent tax law changes and ensure accurate tax returns.

Except for those facing a delay, the IRS will begin accepting e-file and Free File returns on Jan. 14. Additional details about e-file and Free File will be announced later this month.

article about filing delays  

not bad. so i'd just wait till the 24th when the w2 is available on mypay and then go to that website and do the free version?

Yes Mamma Tia, just make sure you are creating an account & filing with the free versions or you will waste your time on the wrong site and have to start over :) Just go through MilitaryOneSource.com or the link I provided above for the TurboTax Free version.

Any more questions...just ask! 

i think i missed the website for the military turbotax.... can you give that to me again? thank you 

http://turbotax.intuit.com/taxfreedom

It's in the very first post I put on this topic. I'll go back and highlight the links so they are easier to find when skimming :) 

has ne one ever used taxslayer? 

I used taxslayer last year for the first time. I normally use turbo tax but last year for some reason it wouldn't let me file for free even though I've used them the past 5 years. Taxslayer was just as good and easy to use. I am using Taxslayer again this year for sure! 

I have always used TaxAct and it is very user friendly. The basic federal is free to efile also I believe. 

taxslayer? i havent ever heard of that... is it as easy as turbo tax? 

i was asking bout taxslayer cuz i hav used em for over 6yrs cuz it was the first one i ever heard of to b free for military.
iv never had ne problems and it seems easy enuff for me. 

I forgot about taxslayer and it hasn't been in the limelight for free military use since way back when. I did play with that one year and it was pretty helpful too...just as easy as all the others, maybe not as in depth as turbotax though. 

so with turbotax does that get u more out of ur income more so than others or not.
its just r w2 no property's or school
or it wouldnt even matter cuz this is the last yr ill b doin my own 

There is no reason you would get more return $ using any of the different softwares out there! These are just choices and some people have preference of one over another, some people need to be walked through more step by step than others.
Last year I filled everything out using 3 different programs (all with free filing and you don't ever have to pay until you actually print or file your return so you can easily do this every year) to see if there was any difference...all 3 matched the same amount. This year both TaxAct and TurboTax came out with the exact same amount as well. This is the way it SHOULD be. 

ok iv wanted to do that but i really dont want to try cuz with taxslayer alot of info is already there. but ty kelly thats the feedbac i was hopin for 

You can do it quicker by skipping over pages like names, addresses, ssn#'s etc. You aren't really filing anything so it's ok to skip these (minus kids if you have any), or just enter all 0's for anything other than a w2 or something that matters.
You're welcome. 

Also filing out at more than one site will help you to find any errors you may have made yourself if the numbers come out differently. It's my way of double checking my work. 

we just got kids but nxt yr ill hav school stuff to report so dont want to deal with ne of that. 

Mostly you only report school when you are paying back interest on a student loan...I think...not sure, never dealt with that personally.