GETTING STARTED How to Adjust Your Withholding Track Down Your Tax Records Your Tax Form Checklist MORE... TAX TOOLS   From TaxCut by H&R Block Will you have to pay the alternative minimum tax in 2004?   Kiplinger Tools How much should I put in my flexible spending account? 2004 survey of state tax burdens Sponsored By: Recent Columns Fear of the AMT - Feb. 7, 2005 Track Your Basis - Feb. 4, 2005 Calculating Capital Gains Tax - Feb. 3, 2005 Capitalize on Property Settlement Costs - Feb. 2, 2005 Deducting Mortgage Interest - Feb. 1, 2005 Time for an IRA Distribution? - Dec. 15, 2004 MORE ... TAX TIPS E-MAIL   Sign Up   Don't miss a single money saving Tax Tip. Now you can have Kevin McCormally's Tax Tips delivered to your inbox every day. Sign up now.

TAX TIPS
Tax Software to the Rescue
by Kevin McCormally

As time dwindles before the April 15 deadline, let me put in one more plug for tax preparation software. It can really simplify the chore before you -- if you're one of the 50 million or so Americans who still hasn't finished your 2003 returns.

Our favorite program is H&R Block's TaxCut, for which Kiplinger provides the kind of practical, understandable, money-saving advice you are used to finding on our Web site and in Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. We're far from alone in picking TaxCut as the best. Independent reviewers agree that the program is great, and many say it's better than its arch rival, TurboTax (it's cheaper, too).

Wondering whether you're one of the growing number who will be snared by the alternative minimum tax? TaxCut automatically applies those rules in the background and, if you are an AMT victim, the program fills out the necessary form.

Concerned that the despicable complexity of the Schedule D might deny you some of the benefits of last year's tax cuts for dividends and capital gains? Never fear. All you have to do is answer TaxCut's questions about what's on your 1099 forms and the program does all the number crunching to deliver you best bottom line.

One of the best things about tax software is the way it simplifies doing your state income tax return. Once you complete the federal forms, all your numbers are automatically transferred to the state forms.

TaxCut is easy to use. And, once you finish your return, you can print it out and mail it to the IRS or file electronically from the comfort of your own home. So far, about 8 million taxpayers have filed from home, according to the IRS. If you use TaxCut, you'll find a rebate slip in the box that will cover the cost of your electronic filing.

If I sound enthusiastic about TaxCut, it's because I am. I just used it to do my federal and District of Columbia returns.