TurboTax Free Edition 2010 – Prepare and E-File Your Tax Return Online for Free!
TurboTax Free Edition 2010 is TurboTax’s most basic tax prep software and will work perfectly well for most taxpayers who are filing a simple tax return. This edition is completely free for federal tax return preparation, and also includes free e-filing. The TurboTax Free Edition is very easy to use and guides you through a series of questions in simple language. The TurboTax Free Edition also provides access to technical support via phone, live chat, email, and TurboTax’s knowledge base.
TurboTax Free Edition includes the following impressive list of IRS forms: (You may want to skip ahead to reading the rest of the article, without reading this lengthy list, unless you are looking for a particular form.)
1040EZ
1040A
1040
Schedule A Itemized Deductions
Schedule B Interest and Dividends
Schedule EIC Earned Income Credit
Schedule R Credit for Elderly or Disabled
Schedule 1 Interest and Ordinary Dividends for Form 1040A Filers
Schedule 2 Child & Dependent Care Expenses
Schedule 3 Credit for Elderly or Disabled
1040X Amended Tax Return
1116 Foreign Tax Credit
1310 Statement of Person Claiming Refund
2106/EZ Employee Business Expenses
2120 Multiple Support Declaration
2210/2210AI Underpayment of Tax/Annualized Income
2210F Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Farmers
2439 Notice to Shareholder of Undistributed Long-Term Capital Gains
2441 Child & Dependent Care Expenses
3903 Moving Expenses
4137 Tax on Unreported Tips
4506 Request for Copy of Tax Form
4684 Casualties & Theft
4852 Substitute W-2 or 1099-R
4868 Extension of Time to File
4952 Investment Interest Expense Deduction
4972 Tax on Lump-Sum Distributions
5329 Additional Taxes on Retirement Plans
5405 First-Time Homebuyer Credit
5695 Residential Energy Credits
6251 Alternative Minimum Tax
8283 Non-cash Charitable Contributions
8332 Release of Claim to Exemption
8379 Injured Spouse Claim and Allocation
8396 Mortgage Interest Credit
8453 E-File Transmittal
8606 Nondeductible IRAs
8615 Tax for Children Under Age 14
8801 Credit for Prior Year Minimum Tax
8812 Additional Child Tax Credit
8815 Exclusion of Interest from Series EE & I Bonds
8822 Change of Address
8839 Qualified Adoption Expenses
8853 Archer MSAs and Long-Term Care Insurance Contracts
8857 Innocent Spouse Relief
8859 DC First-Time Homebuyer Credit
8862 Info to Claim EIC After Disallowance
8863 Education Credits
8880 Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings Contributions
8885 Health Coverage Tax Credit
8889 Health Savings Account
8891 Canadian Retirement Plans
8910 Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit
8915 Hurricane Retirement Plan Distributions
8917 Tuition and Fees Deduction
8919 Uncollected Social Security and Medicare Tax on Wages
8930 Qualified Disaster Recovery Assistance Retirement Plan Distributions and Repayments
9465 Installment Agreement Request
SS-4 Application for Employer ID Number
Form TD F 90-22.1 Report of Foreign Bank Accounts
However, TurboTax Free Edition2010 does not include access to the following common tax forms and schedules: Schedules C (self-employment), Schedule D (capital gains), Schedule E (rental property and income reported via Schedules K-1), and Schedule F (farm income). Therefore, if you have any investment income from stocks or rental property, or if you have any income from self-employment, farm or K-1’s, you will need to upgrade to TurboTax Deluxen 2010.
Also, this free tax prep product cannot import 1099s or W-2s. To get this feature, you would to need to upgrade to Turbo Tax Deluxe 2010. Although certainly not necessary, the import feature can be a real time saver if you have mutliple W-2’s or 1099’s.
Another potential disadvantage for some situations is that TurboTax Free Edition 2010 is only available as a Web-based software application. If you would prefer to download the software to your computer, TurboTax Deluxe 2010 or Premier2010 provide the option of either purchasing the software disc or immediately downloading the software online. The TurboTax online download option is actually a few dollars cheaper than ordering the software disc from Amazon. The online tax software download option also provides the conveniences of immediate access to the software, rather than waiting for the software to be shipped or spending the time and gas to go shopping at a retail location.
Finally, although the federal return is free when using TurboTax Free Edition 2010, the state return costs $27.95. So for many taxpayers who must file a state tax return, the slightly more expensive TurboTax Deluxe 2010 may actually provide a better value than TurboTax Free Edition 2010.