So I always do my taxes early... I just like doing my taxes. I got my W-2 early and I normally know the numbers on the all the tax forms before they come out so I just get it over with and double check my math when I get the forms later... so far always right and never had an audit.
I normally use turbo tax(with Vanguard customer discount), but the second I hit the little button for HSA it was going to charge me another $33. All in all it was going to cost over $60. So I tried taxact and 3 questions in its pulling the same crap because I make too much for the free service.....
So I go to the source. I go straight to the IRS website and hit the FREE efile button knowing it costs $25 for state thinking I will get it done for $25. Its 'slightly' more user friendly than filling out a tax form by hand, but comparing it to TurboTax is like comparing a '90 Civic to a 2015 Mercedes S550... so I'm expecting the '90 Civic price tag. Using it was a nightmare. For some reason it thought that a max HSA contribution was 3100... this is very sad because its the IRS... they are the source for this information! FYI.. its $3300 in 2014. I find a way of manually overriding that crap. Then it tries to count my employer HSA contribution twice so that is a nightmare. I have to lie on one screen, but then the actual return looks right at the end(and the numbers match what Turbotax said). If I didn't double check everything it did against turbotax and then correct its mistakes it probably would have cost me another $200 in taxes. So finally I get to the end of this FREE government provided service... you owe us $70! You are charging me for the luxury of paying you money! WTF????
I can do my own taxes. I would just prefer to do it online and efile rather than fill out paperwork and mail it. Does anyone know of a cheaper/free service for doing this? I will type in the fields on an actual tax return if need be.
Otherwise I'm just going to print some stuff and buy a stamp. :)
