Update Nov. 3, 2014 — Please note that 1040 Central has been replaced by the Filing page.
IR-2007-11, Jan. 16, 2007
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service and its private-sector partners today announced the opening of this year's Free ob体育 program with a series of improvements and changes to help taxpayers. The free tax preparation and free electronic filing initiative begins its fifth year with more consumer-friendly features and expanded services for Spanish-speaking taxpayers.
Seventy percent of the nation’s taxpayers — 95 million Americans — qualify for Free ob体育. This year, up to 20 Free ob体育 Alliance companies will participate in the program run by the IRS and the Free ob体育 Alliance, a consortium of tax preparation software companies. The program is available only through IRS.gov.
“The Free ob体育 program has significant changes this year that make it an even better deal for taxpayers,” said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson. “A huge part of the taxpayer public can use these free services. Taxpayers should review the Free ob体育 offerings and see which one works best for them.”
Free ob体育 Alliance Executive Director Tim Hugo said, "This year, 95 million Americans will be eligible to participate in a Free ob体育 program that has made dramatic improvements for the taxpaying public. The Free ob体育 program is a public-private partnership at its best."
A new agreement reached last month between the IRS and the Free ob体育 Alliance means enhanced services for taxpayers this year. Among the changes and features of this year’s program:
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Seventy percent of the nation’s taxpayers — those with an adjusted gross income of $52,000 or less — are eligible for Free ob体育. Each company sets its own criteria for who can use the service.
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Taxpayers will be able to use Free ob体育 to request the Telephone Excise Tax Refund. Taxpayers can either request the standard amount, which ranges from $30-$60, or the actual amount. Some alliance members will provide free access to Form 1040EZ-T for those people who have no legal obligation to file a tax return, but who can request the one-time telephone excise tax refund. Some alliance members also will offer free access to Form 8913 to request the actual amount.
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Two companies will offer Free ob体育 in Spanish.
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Participants will no longer offer refund anticipation loans (RALs) and other ancillary products.
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Some Alliance members are offering the state return for free. All Alliance members’ Web sites display whether state online tax preparation and filing services are available and the associated fees, if any.
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Taxpayers can use Free ob体育 to file a Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to ob体育.
The Free ob体育 Alliance selects its own membership, and all members must meet the IRS’ high standards for security and privacy. The IRS does not endorse any Free ob体育 Alliance company. While the IRS manages the content of the Free ob体育 pages accessible on IRS.gov, it does not retain any taxpayer information entered on the Free ob体育 site.
More than 3.9 million taxpayers used Free ob体育 last year. Free ob体育 debuted in 2003 with nearly 2.8 million users.
Taxpayers consistently give high marks to Free ob体育 in satisfaction surveys. According to Russell Research, a market research firm contracted by the IRS, 94 percent said they intend to use Free ob体育 again this year, 96 percent said they found Free ob体育 very easy or somewhat easy to use and 97 percent said they would recommend Free ob体育 to others. Convenience, not the free cost, was the most appealing factor of Free ob体育.
“This level of public satisfaction with Free ob体育 is just astounding,” Everson said. “This innovative program provides real value to the taxpayers. Taxpayers will find we’ve made a great program even better this year.”
Related Items:
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Free ob体育 Press Kit
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IR-2006-187, RALs Removed on Free ob体育; 93 Million Eligible for Program
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1040 Central