2010 United States Tax Filing Thread

[Quinn]

With is being tax season in the US and with so many expats from the US here, I though it would be a good time to start a new thread on the topic.

If you have any tips for people filing, any advice on services, to use, then please share. But let's keep this as a useful resource and not a debate over the history of US taxation. Those discussions are great, but this doesn't need to be a place for that.



Filing from Overseas:

A quick tip. You can do all your filings online (for a low charge) for both federal and state via a number of services:

https://www.taxactonline.com
https://www.freefilefillableforms.com/FFA/Gateway.htm
http://turbotax.intuit.com/
http://www.hrblock.com/online-tax-preparation/tax-software-online-file-taxes.html



If you are self-employed, have a normal accountant who handles your taxes but still need to physically sign your forms and cannot file online, you would obviously need to have your forms sent to you and then physically FedEx them to the US. That's assuming your accountant doesn't have POA to sign for you.


The other option, if you are planning a trip to the US, is to file for an extension.


Filing a Tax Extension Online:

You can do that online for free via:
https://www.taxactonline.com/s_online_tax2010/index.asp
https://www.freefilefillableforms.com/FFA/Gateway.htm






Please share any tips or advice you have to make the process easier for any US expats here. I know that since I'm self-employed and rely on services beyond filing online on my own now, I'd be very open to some tips.

 

[gouchobob]

If you feel comfortable doing your own taxes you can go to, as the OP mentioned.

https://www.freefilefillableforms.com/FFA/FreeFileForms.htm

Everything is free including electronic filing.

Also depending on your home state you may still have to file a state tax return.