Tax Time Is Here; File On Your Own At Home

Tax time is daunting for some and welcomed by others depending on whether you get a refund or owe income taxes. By January 31, all W-2 and 1099 forms should be mailed. If you do not receivedthese forms within a week, you should contact your employer or the bank or other institution that issues such.

For those who have access to a computer, www.irs.gov is the website for all the answers to your federal tax questions, tax tables, booklets, and tax forms. Our local library also has federal and state tax forms available.

If you have grossed $57,000 or less in 2009, you qualify for a free file electronically, you will need to use a computer. At the present time, 20 companies offer free file and can only be accessed by going to www.irs.gov and clicking on “use free file to prepare and file federal taxes.”

Each company listed has some limitations for use. To get your federal taxes filed for free, you must go through the IRS website and then to the free file website.

If you grossed over $57,000, you can also use the free file websites listed, but you will have to pay for the privilege; some cost as low as $9.95 for filing federal income tax.

There are many different types of 1099 statements. Three of the mostly com-monly used 1099 forms are: 1099-Miscellaneous or 1099-Misc., mainly used to report to you and the IRS, income over $600 that you received from someone who is not your employer.

If you did not have taxes taken out, you will not only owe federal and state income taxes for this income, but also Social Security and Medicare Taxes which equals around 15.3%. 1099-Int. reports interest you earn from banks and other institutions. 1099-Div. reports dividends that you receive from stocks.

The Georgia Department of Revenue website, www.dor.ga.gov, is your source for information on filing your Georgia income tax return. You can find forms, instructions, and tax tables there.

Most tax return preparation companies charge by the form and can be extremely expensive. By carefully reading the lines of the tax forms and referring to the instructions, you can prepare your own taxes. Beat the rush and file early if you are getting a refund, if not the deadline for those who owe taxes is April 15.