I have always done our own taxes. What a PITA! Anyway, last year, I used turbotax for the first time. I didn't but the program from a store, I purchased it on-line through turbotax's website.

I found the program very easy to use, both for federal and state (MA). Turbotax then will file your return electronically.

If you do not plan on itemizing, you may be able to get away with the basic forms.

Here's the link to turbotax's website.

BTW, I am NOT an accountant or tax person, so my free advice may be worth what you paid for it.

HTH,
Ellen

Here is a link that might be useful: TurboTax

Thanks Ellen. I have done the forms by hand years ago, and don't care to again. I guess I was just curious as to if the government had gotten up to date and had an easier way of doing it yourself online.

I checked out the website you posted and will just probably just order through them.

Thanks!

Last year, the IRS allowed some taxpayers to compute and pay their taxes (if necessary) on-line (see link below). You must meet certain income requirements.

Personally, I prefer H&R Block's TaxCut over TurboTax. Some of that has to do with Quicken's poor attitude toward Macintosh users (and my desire to not reward that behavior); some of that is because I don't need the bells and whistles that TurboTax offers (for example, its very high level of integration with Quicken, which I don't use) and so I don't want to pay more for TurboTax.

Here is a link that might be useful: e-filing for individual taxpayers

I always did my own taxes and had more difficult forms to do than it appears that you will need. It isn't that hard and gives you a firm grasp on just what is going on with you financially. Two years ago I started using Turbo Tax and now I am addicted to the ease of using it. I buy it at Costco which is the best price anywhere as far as I know. BUT REALLY, I think you should do them yourself this time just to get familiar with how it all works. It is so much easier now than it used to be because all of the forms and booklets are available on-line and if you botch one up, you can just download another. I was always tearing my hair out because it would take me weeks to get all the forms I needed. Not anymore!

Well I am a CPA and have also used Turbotax since the early 90's when it first came out. I don't do individual tax returns anymore, just mine and my mom's. Either using the purchased software or online, Turbotax is pretty easy. I've talked several people into it and heard no complaints. Like Steve O commented, check if you are eligible to file online for free. Free is always good.

Another Turbo tax user here. I've been filing for DH and myself for about 10 years. Started using TT about 5 years ago. It's very user friendly. And like the previous poster, I buy mine from Costco. I bought the basic version, then decided to upgrade (you can upgrade online). The only reason I upgraded was that we had some stock sales and some rental property and the upgraded version had more detailed info than the basic version.
When I used to do the forms by hand with a calculator, I'd invariable make math errors (hit the wrong button on the calculator). With TT (or any other program) you don't have that problem.
You can also see as you enter data how it's going to affect your bottom line (how much you will owe or get refunded)