Date:  Mon, 15 Mar 2004 16:40:39 -0500
From:  "Mark Dodel" <madodel at ptdprolog.net>
Subject:  [VOICENWS] Net: Tim's Warped Bargains: Filing Your U.S. Income Tax Return


From: Timothy Sipples  

Dear Bargain Hunters,

I just filled out my U.S. federal income tax forms last night.  I've
always used paper -- call me old fashioned -- but this year I thought I'd
try the online version.

<http://www.TaxAct.com> works well with eComStation and OS/2 Warp (and the
Mozilla family of browsers).  Although the web site nags you a bit to buy
the $7.95 or the $9.95 online upgrades, the free version works just fine,
too.  (That's what I used.)  They also offer the option (for a fee) to
generate your state income tax return, but I skipped that and just went
directly to my state's own web site to file for free.  TaxAct.com even
told me whether I could contribute (and how much) to IRAs if I wanted.

Kudos to the various vendors for cross-platform web sites.  All I needed
at the end was an Adobe Acrobat (PDF) viewer, and both Ghostscript/GSView
and Innotek's kit work fine for that.  Turn off Mozilla's pop-up blocker
while you use the web site. (Or add TaxAct to the exception list.)

I never seem to get a refund, though.  (No penalties either.)  I guess
that's good in a way, since the government isn't earning the interest.

Now that I've filled out my tax forms using the online process, I'm not
sure whether it's any better or not.  Possibly a bit more enjoyable
(because of the novelty), and the online version does some mathematical
checks that might be helpful.  It worked, and it worked with my favorite
operating system.  So does paper, though.

Either way, may your refund be large.  Because your kids and grandkids
will need it to pay off the burgeoning national debt. :-)




--
 Warpstock 2003 - San Francisco, California, October 18-19
 See the video and presentations:  http://www.warpstock.org

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