Preparing your income tax return doesn’t have to stress you out. There are several things you can do to ease the pain when it’s time to file your tax return. The IRS offers taxpayers several tips to help you complete the task of preparing your income tax return.

1. Don’t wait until the last minute
   Don’t wait until the last day to file taxes. Rushing to file by the tax due date may cost you money. It increases the risk of making errors and it may cause you to overlook potential tax savings. If you don’t know how to do your taxes, seek out tax return help from various sources that are available. You can seek tax help from your accountant, tax preparer, tax attorney, tax software or even a knowledgeable friend. You can even visit the IRS website for tax help and to get answers to your tax questions.
2. Use Free File
   Qualifying taxpayers can take advantage of the income tax services provided by the IRS. Free File allows you the ability to file your income tax using online tax software for free. Everyone can find an option to prepare their tax return and e-file it for free. If you made $57,000 or less, you qualify for free tax software. If you made more than $57,000 and know how to prepare your tax return, there’s Free File Fillable Forms, the electronic versions of IRS paper forms.
3. Try IRS e-file.
   IRS e-file is quickly becoming the preferred means for filing income tax returns. For the 2010 tax year almost 80 million people used e-file to file their income tax return. If you owe taxes, you can file immediately and pay later (by the April 17 tax due date). E-file offers you the option of receiving your tax refund via direct deposit. It’s the quicker and fastest way to get your tax refund, sometimes in as little at 10 days.
4. Don’t panic if you can’t pay.
   If you can’t pay the full amount of taxes you owe by the mid-April deadline, you should still file your return by the deadline and pay as much as you can to avoid penalties and interest. A majority of taxpayers eligible for an Installment Agreement can apply using the web-based Online Payment Agreement application available at the IRS website. www.irs.gov. To find out more about this simple and convenient process, type “Online Payment Agreement” in the search box at www.irs.gov.
5. Request an extension of time to file – but pay on time.
   If you’re not finished preparing your tax return by the tax due date, you can get an automatic six-month extension through Oct. 15. In order to get a tax extension it must be filed or postmarked by the April 17 deadline. But remember, a tax extension does not give you more time to pay any taxes due. If you have not paid at least 90 percent of the total tax due by the April deadline you may also be subject to an estimated tax penalty. You can obtain an extension through Free File at www.irs.gov/freefile or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676) to have a paper form mailed to you. Allow at least 10 days for mailed forms and publications.

Take advantage of these tips to reduce your tax season stress and remember the IRS is always available to provide tax help, answer your tax questions and guide you in your quest for free tax software.

You can get tax help, ask tax questions, learn tax facts, and get information from the IRS in several ways. Whether it’s by phone, mail, online, or face-to-face, the Internal Revenue provides the tax help that you need.

Here are the options available to taxpayers for resolving issues with the IRS:

The Taxpayer Advocate Service

The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is an independent organization within the IRS that helps taxpayers unable to provide essentials like food, housing and transportation; who are seeking tax help or trying to resolve tax problems; and those who believe an IRS procedure is not working as it should. Here are some tax facts about the Taxpayer Advocate Service:

• The Taxpayer Advocate Service is your voice at the IRS.
• TAS is free, confidential, and tailored to your tax needs.
• You may be eligible for the tax help service if you’ve tried to resolve your tax problem through normal IRS channels and have gotten nowhere.
• This IRS tax service helps individual taxpayers and businesses whose problems are causing financial difficulty or significant cost, including the cost of hiring professional help, like a tax attorney.
• TAS employees know the IRS and how to navigate it. Taxpayers who qualify for the service will be assigned an advocate who will listen to your problem, understand how to resolve it, and follow through until the resolution of the tax problem.
• There is a tax advocate in every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. You can visit the IRS website www.irs.gov/advocate to find your local Taxpayer Advocate.

Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITCs)

The Low Taxpayer Clinic program serves individuals who have a problem with the IRS and whose income is below a certain level. LITCs are independent from the IRS. Most LITCs can provide representation before the IRS or in court on audits, tax collection disputes, and other issues for free or a small fee. If an individual’s native language is not English, some clinics can provide multilingual information about taxpayer rights and responsibilities.

Free Tax Services

Taxpayers who want to learn about the various IRS services and resources, should refer to IRS Publication 910, IRS Guide to Free Tax Services. The guide includes free tax information from the IRS, publications, services, and education and assistance programs. Taxpayers can also get facts about taxes.

Free Help With Your Tax Return

Free help in preparing your return is available nationwide from IRS-trained volunteers. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is designed to help low-income taxpayers and the Tax counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program is designed to assist taxpayers age 60 and older with their tax returns. Many VITA sites offer free electronic filing and all volunteers will let you know about credits and deductions you may be entitled to claim. To find the nearest VITA or TCE site, call 1-800-829-1040.
As part of the TCE program, AARP offers the Tax-Aide counseling program. To find the nearest AARP Tax-Aide site, call 1-888-227-7669 or visit AARP Tax-Aide online.

Internet

Many taxpayers prefer using the IRS website for getting IRS tax help and answers to their tax questions. Using the IRS website, taxpayers can also:

• Efile.
  Find out about commercial tax preparation and efile services available free to eligible taxpayers.
• Check the status of your tax refund.
  You can go to IRS.gov and click on Where’s My Refund. Wait at least 72 hours after the IRS acknowledges receipt of your efiled return, or 3 to 4 weeks after mailing a paper return. Have your tax return available so you can provide your social security number, your filing status and the exact amount of your refund.
• Download tax forms, instructions and IRS publications.
• Order IRS products online.
• Research your tax questions online.
• Discover interesting tax facts
• Search publications online by topic or keyword.
• Use the online Internal Revenue Code, regulations, or other offical guidance.
• Figure your withholding allowances using the online withholding calculator.
• Determine if Form 6251 must be filed by using the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) Assistant.
• Sign up to receive local and national tax news by email.
• Get information on starting and operating a small business.

Phone

The IRS provides tax help and services via phone. Call the IRS to:

• Order forms, instructions and publications by calling 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676).
• Ask your tax questions and get tax facts from IRS experts, by calling 1-800-829-1040.
• Solve tax problems
  You can get face-to-face help solving tax problems every business day at the IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers. Call your local Taxpayer Assistance for an appointment. To find the one closest to you go to local Taxpayer Assistance.
• Get tax help using TTY/TDD equipment
  Call 1-800-829-4059 to ask tax questions or to order tax forms and publications.
• Access TeleTax topics
  Call 1-800-829-4477 to listen to pre-recorded messages covering various tax topics.
• Get tax refund information
  To check the status of your tax refund call 1-800-829-1954 or 1-800-829-4477.
• Find out the status of other refunds
  Call 1-800-829-1040 to check the status of a prior-year refund or amended tax refund.

Walk-in

You can walk in to your local Taxpayer Assistance Center every business day for expert tax help. No appointment is necessary.

Mail

You can send your order for forms, instructions, and publications to the address below. You should receive a response within 10 days after your request is received.

Internal Revenue Service
1201 N. Mitsubishi Motorway
Bloomington, IL 61705-6613

DVD For Tax Products

You can order Publication 1796, IRS Tax Products DVD, and obtain:

• Current-year forms, instructions, and publications.
• Prior-year forms, instructions, and publications.
• Tax Map: an electronic research tool and finding aid.
• Tax law frequently asked questions. 2011.
• Tax Topics from the IRS telephone response system.
• Internal Revenue Code—Title 26 of the U.S. Code.
• Fill-in, print, and save features for most tax forms.
• Internal Revenue Bulletins.
• Toll-free and email technical support.
• Two releases during the year.
  The first release will ship the beginning of January 2011.
  The final release will ship the beginning of March 2011.

Purchase the DVD from National Technical Information Service (NTIS) at ww.irs.gov/cdorders for $30 (no handling fee) or call 1-877-233-6767 toll free to buy the DVD for $30 (plus a $6 handling fee).

source: irs.gov

The IRS is offering free tax help to taxpayers this weekend. On Saturday, March 26, 2011, nearly 100 IRS offices will be open to help taxpayers resolve tax issues. The location of participating offices is listed on IRS.gov.

“We are opening our doors this Saturday to help taxpayers who may not have a chance to seek assistance during the work week,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. ” We are very focused on providing services to taxpayers when they want it, where they want it.”

The IRS Saturday Open House hours are from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time. IRS personnel will be on-site to provide taxpayers one-on-one tax help. More than 35,000 taxpayers attended similar events last year resolving more than 95 percent of their tax issues.

IRS personnel will provide free tax help to taxpayers by helping with tax return preparation, answering tax questions, offering tax tips and assisting in tax issue resolution.

In addition to IRS help, community organizations partner with the IRS. Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs assist people who earned $49,000 or less, and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs assist individuals age 60 and over with their 2010 income tax return preparation and electronic filing. Many of these sites have Saturday hours while others offer assistance at various times during the week. Taxpayers can call 800-906-9887 to locate partner sites in their area.

The IRS Saturday Open House is a great opportunity to get IRS tax help, tax tips and answers to your tax questions – for free.

Make note, the IRS expects to open on two additional Saturdays later this year.

source: irs.gov