"Millions of Americans can do taxes online for free once you know how to go about it."

E-Filing Your 1040 Tax Form

When tax season rolls around every April, it's a mad rush for everyone to send their taxes to the IRS, especially those who have a refund due. Not only that, but also more people have discovered that it's quicker to e-file your taxes than to mail them in and wait for a refund check. That process can take six weeks or more, especially for those who wait until the last few weeks before the deadline in order to file.

For those who are interested in taking advantage of the option to E-file their federal taxes, several methods are available for doing this. The oldest method is to pay the extra money and have your tax preparer do this for you. There is nothing you have to do except provide the permission, and the tax preparer does the rest for you.

If you would like to file your taxes yourself instead of paying someone to do it for you, there are two ways to do this. If you go to the IRS site at www.irs.gov, information will be provided about providers of E-filing. A taxpayer who makes under $50,000 and does not itemize deductions qualifies for free E-filing through one of the companies who have agreed to provide this service through the IRS website. If you choose to do your own taxes using one of the software packages such as Tax Cut or Turbo Tax, instructions are included within the interview process explaining how to E-file, and at the completion of the interview, the program will give you the option to E-file your taxes or print and mail the return.

Choose the method that is best for you, but remember that E-filing will save you a great deal of time in processing your return, with a turnover of around 21 days instead of four to six weeks. Include direct deposit with that, and your refund will be in your bank account within ten to twelve calendar days.