YORK COUNTY - State Rep. Windol Weaver, R-York, has announced that free on-line federal tax preparation services are available for many Maine residents through the Free File Alliance.
The Free File Alliance is a voluntary coalition of private sector tax software preparation companies that have a public-private partnership with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to provide their on-line services to millions of Americans.
Weaver encouraged taxpayers who would like to take advantage of the Free File program to visit either the IRS website at www.irs.gov and click on the free file link or go directly to www.freefilealliance.com.
Taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of $54,000 or less who meet certain age requirements, depending on the company used, may qualify for free preparation services. Adjusted gross income is defined as gross income minus adjustments to income.
If your income or personal circumstances did not change from last year, refer to your 2006 federal income tax return to get a quick estimate of your 2007 adjusted growth income.
Some participating Free File Alliance companies do offer free state tax return preparation and e-filing services. Before selecting a company, taxpayers may want to use the "Guide Me To A Company" tool on the IRS website to determine which companies offer state tax preparation and e-filing services for their state. The "Guide Me To A Company" link may be found at the bottom of the screen of the Free File homepage.
If taxpayers want to use the same company to prepare their state return as their federal return, an option is available to select the state that will be used for preparing a state income tax return.
Companies displayed on the site will include those that offer software preparation and e-filing for the taxpayer's state tax return. Taxpayers may find the offers made by industry participants and choose the offer that fits their needs. The taxpayer is then transferred to the company's website to prepare and electronic file their taxes.
For more, visit www.freefilealliance.com.
