Tax Preparation: IRS Publications and Services
Whether you’re doing your taxes using tax software or by hand, going to a tax preparation service or having your accountant do them, you may have questions and special situations and not know how to handle them. Luckily, the IRS has a website that offers more information and publications and forms than you could ever want or need. (Unless you do this for a living, of course.)
First of all, if you have a moderate to low income ($39,000 and below, according to the site), or if you’re elderly, or if you’re military, you can get free tax return preparation by volunteers through the IRS.
If you don’t qualify for that or you want to do your taxes your way, you can find information in the IRS’ main repository of tax forms and publications, which is both browsable and searchable. The documents can be downloaded directly onto your computer, usually in .pdf form. You can also have tax forms and publications delivered through U.S. mail to your doorstep.
What if that’s not enough? There’s more. Naturally, a good place to start is the IRS FAQ. Next, try Tax Trails, an online interactive process that steps you through questions until it comes up with the answer you need.
Still having trouble? You can call the IRS directly, Monday through Friday, with questions about your tax return or about notices you may have received from the IRS. In addition, each state has local IRS offices. If there’s one that’s close enough to you, you can visit and get help in person.
If you’re struggling, particularly if you’ve run into a tax law you think is unfair or creates a big problem, or you’re having a problem you can’t get resolved through the channels above, you might want to check out the Taxpayer Advocate Service. A description of this IRS program is here.
Last but not least, if what you need is information about state taxes, locate your state tax authority on this site and see what your state has listed on their tax site.
