Electronic vs Paper Filing 1040

The tax season is upon us and millions of taxpayers are wondering if they should file taxes electronically or mail their returns. It surely doesn’t matter as long as you file your tax return but one option is superior to another. Taxpayers who need to get their tax refunds ASAP should e-file taxes. This will enable the IRS to process their tax returns a lot faster in comparison to mailed-in tax returns. 

While e-filing is much superior, it might come with a cost though. However, most taxpayers are eligible to e-file taxes for free if they qualify for the Free File offers from the IRS partners. There is a wide range of tax preparation services that have different requirements for taxpayers to file taxes for free. This enables taxpayers to be done with taxes easily and get their refunds faster.

Filing Form 1040 Online

Filing a federal income tax return online isn’t as hard as it seems, especially if the tax preparation service assists you. On average, it takes between 30 and 60 minutes for a taxpayer to complete a tax return. If we were to compare this with filing a tax return on paper, the time it takes would be a lot more. It can take even days for a taxpayer to prepare a simple enough tax return.

So for that reason, we highly suggest filing a tax return electronically. The amount of time you save is definitely worth the price if you’re not eligible for free file.

Which tax preparation service is the best?

There is no direct answer to this question as we cannot point out a tax preparation service and claim it to be the best. The most popular tax preparation services are TurboTax, H&R Block, Liberty Tax, Jackson Hewitt, and TaxSlayer. 

A taxpayer who qualifies for Free File through a tax preparation service may not qualify for another. That said, you should look at the tax preparation software that enables you to file for free.

Processing time and tax refunds

The Internal Revenue Service needs less time to prepare tax returns which results in a quicker turnover for tax refunds. If you’re expecting a tax refund from the IRS, it’s best to file electronically as it will take less time to receive your refund. If you want to get your refund as quickly as possible though, the trick is to file taxes online and get the refund direct deposited.