TaxACT : Press Releases

Don't Suffer the Alternative -- The Alternative Minimum Tax That Is: Reduce the Effect of AMT by Using TaxACT 2007 Preview

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 14:10:42 -0500

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA--(October 24, 2007) - The individual Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), implemented in 1969, is a parallel income tax system that was created to prevent 155 wealthy Americans from aggressively using tax credits, deductions, and legal tax shelters as tools to help them avoid having to pay federal income tax. The idea was simple: Create a minimum tax that ensured everyone pays Uncle Sam his due.

Fast forward to present day and you'll find millions of middle-income Americans are now getting snared by the AMT. The main reason the AMT now reaches into the pockets of the middle-class is because regular income tax brackets are indexed for inflation but the AMT thresholds are not. The result has been the steady expansion of households who find themselves hit by the AMT -- especially households with a large number of children, education credits, residential energy credit and / or state and local taxes.

Why haven't Americans been clamoring for an immediate overhaul to the AMT? Thus far, the full effects of the AMT have been deferred by Congress enacting a series of temporary patches -- boosting the amount of the AMT exemption.

The last temporary fix to increase the exemption, however, expired at the end of 2006. If Congress fails to ratify another provisional one-year increase in the next few months, the number of households paying the AMT will escalate exponentially from approximately 4 million in 2006 to nearly 23 million for 2007.

To determine if a taxpayer owes tax under the AMT, filers must calculate their taxes under both the regular tax and AMT systems -- making the "Alternative Minimum Tax" tax a bit of a misnomer considering taxpayers must pay the higher of the two. The biggest factor impacting AMT filers is that they are no longer eligible to claim certain deductions and exemptions (i.e. education credits, child care credits, and the deduction for state and local taxes).

Sound complicated? It can be if taxpayers don't plan ahead and use the tools that are available to them as a significant portion of taxpayers may be surprised when they are suddenly hit with a big tax bill, plus possible penalties come next April. Some planning tools are even free, such as the tool offered by 2nd Story Software®, Inc., -- makers of the popular tax program TaxACT.

"It seems unlikely that lawmakers will fail to pass another patch to serve as a quick fix to hold down the reach of the AMT. Guessing wrong, however, could prove costly. Unfortunately, there are a vast number of factors that will trigger the alternative tax for any given taxpayer," says Stephanie Behrends, spokeswoman for 2nd Story Software.

"TaxACT Preview is a taxpayer's ally allowing users to perform what-if scenarios to determine their estimated tax liability. Users simply need to step through the TaxACT interview entering their forecasted income and deductions for the tax year by answering simple questions in layman's terms. TaxACT simultaneously calculates your projected tax with the regular tax system and the AMT system based on the taxpayer's tax bracket and the most recent tax information available."

Behrends continues, "TaxACT Preview provides valuable forecasting information. TaxACT Preview will compute the AMT and limit tax credits as appropriate based on the 2007 draft version of Form 6251 - Alternative Minimum Tax - for Individuals (the amount if Congress doesn't pass an extension) to show the full impact of the AMT; or, estimates can be based on the 2006 Form 6251 instructions (assuming Congress enacts the same temporary patch to AMT as last year)."

Visitors need only to complete the site's free online registration to gain access to TaxACT's Online Deluxe Preview version at www.taxact.com to generate a forecasted federal and state income tax refund or liability amount -- providing users with valuable insight into their tax situation. Once the Final version of TaxACT releases in early January 2008, users can easily finalize their tax return and print and/or e-file their federal tax return for just $9.95.

Get A Head Start On Year-End Tax Planning: Maximize your return fast and FREE with TaxACT 2007 Preview Products

Tue, 2 Oct 2007 14:08:10 -0500

Cedar Rapids, IA - October 2, 2007 - 2nd Story Software®, Inc., developers of TaxACT® software, celebrates ten years of free federal Web-based tax preparation software and announces the immediate release of TaxACT® 2007 Preview products - now available.

As a trusted and secure source for tax preparation and electronic filing services for millions of taxpayers, TaxACT.com is the only Web-based tax planning and preparation solution to offer taxpayers a year-round solution.

Choosing the right TaxACT product is contingent upon the taxpayer's situation and the amount of assistance that s/he may need to recognize and take full advantage of the various deductions and credits that one is entitled to claim. TaxACT Standard, a popular choice among those who traditionally file a straight-forward federal return is free to prepare, print and e-file. The Deluxe version, which is $9.95 when you choose to print or e-file a federal return, is packed with additional help and guidance. In addition, consumers can choose between two platforms: TaxACT Online (over-the-Web) or TaxACT software (a download file that installs to their hard drive).

All taxpayers are encouraged to put TaxACT's free Deluxe Preview Edition to the task of calculating their 2007 tax liability for a FREE end-of-the-year-check-up - helping to minimize their tax bill and maximize personal savings. This unique and powerful tax planning service provides an easy-to-use interview format that helps taxpayers conduct a thorough analysis of their tax situation. For the second consecutive year taxpayers can perform tax end-of-year tax planning for both their federal and state taxes with the TaxACT State Planner feature. Visitors need only to complete the site's free online registration to gain access to TaxACT's Online Deluxe Preview version to generate a forecasted federal and state income tax refund or liability amount - providing users with valuable insight into their tax situation.

"The tax code is dynamic - subject to change every year. Couple that with even the smallest change to your personal circumstances and the impact on your tax liability can be tremendous," says Stephanie Behrends, spokeswoman for 2nd Story Software, Inc

Behrends continues, "While early tax preparation offers filers a distinct opportunity to coordinate the lion's share of financial information and documents, the real goal of effective tax planning is to reduce your tax liability. To reach that objective, taxpayers have turned to TaxACT Preview as it is a workhorse that helps users to formulate a comprehensive tax planning strategy - providing them with tax guidance, tips, calculators, access to the most current tax laws and more."

Deluxe Preview outlines tax-savings strategies tailored to your unique tax situation which can be implemented prior to the end of the year - helping you to save money on your taxes. Other Deluxe-only features include access to: additional forms, calculators and reports. Plus, Deluxe integrates America's all-time best selling tax guide, J.K. Lasser's™ Your Income Tax Guide by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; this context-sensitive, line-by-line help provides insight to complex tax laws, planning opportunities, and potential pitfalls to avoid based on recent tax law changes and pending legislation before Congress.

TaxACT 2006 Tax Season Wrap Up : TaxACT Continues to Grow Nearly Twice the Rate of the Market

Fri, 11 May 2007 15:24:11 -0500

2nd Story Software®, Inc., developers of TaxACT® software, recognized by critics and users alike as being America's #1 value-priced tax preparation software, reports continued growth at a rate faster than the growth of the general consumer tax preparation software industry.

As a trusted and secure source for tax preparation and electronic filing services for millions of taxpayers, TaxACT continues to demonstrate that its unique and unprecedented completely free tax software offer is gaining acceptance by an increasing number of users who opt to e-file their federal income tax return.

As of April 19, 2007, year-to-date 2,923,533 taxpayers have completed e-filing their own federal tax return using TaxACT. This is up from 2,450,849 e-filed returns for the same period the year before, and this represents a 19.29% growth year-over-year. At the same time, IRS data indicates that a total of 21,834,967 taxpayers have completed e-filing their own federal returns, up 10.62% over the prior year. This market share growth is a continuation of the tremendous growth TaxACT experienced in 2006, when the number of consumer-prepared federal tax returns e-filed using TaxACT grew to 2,520,742 returns, an increase of 62.7% over the previous year, as compared to total market growth of 18.9%.

Countdown to Tax Day

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 12:49:04 -0500

Have you been putting off doing your taxes? You're not alone. Despite the filing deadline being extended two extra days, millions of taxpayers are beginning to feel the pressure to finish their taxes.

The reasons are plentiful as to why you may not have filled your 2006 tax return. Fortunately, however, you have a two more days to file your tax return this year. Because April 15 falls on a Sunday and April 16 is a legal holiday in Washington, D.C., you have until April 17 to file your return (without requesting an extension).

Interim Report - TaxACT 2006 Announces Faster Growth than the Market

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 12:48:31 -0500

TaxACT 2006 Reports Faster Growth than the Market

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 12:46:43 -0500

TaxACT 2006 Helps Taxpayers Navigate New and Newly Extended Tax Law Changes

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 10:50:34 -0500

2nd Story Software®, Inc., developers of what a number of critics and users alike denote as being America's #1 value-priced tax preparation software, announces the release of TaxACT® Standard and Deluxe Editions for the 2006 tax season.

This tax season, TaxACT fashions a revamped, crisp interface, enhanced Site Maps, a new Q&A search feature, and program tutorial - making the navigation of TaxACT even more easy to use.

The Best Deal In Tax Preparation Software: Completely Free & 100% Guaranteed

Thu, 4 Jan 2007 10:42:50 -0500

2nd Story Software®, Inc., developers of what a number of critics and users alike denote as being America's #1 value-priced tax preparation software, announces all taxpayers filing their 2006 tax return can prepare, print and e-file their federal tax return through www.TaxACT.com completely free using TaxACT® 2006 Standard Desktop and Online Editions.

This unmatched, non-restrictive offer makes preparing taxes electronically possible for all Americans filing a federal tax return. Despite claims by others to offer free preparation and e-file services, the only place where all American taxpayers can find truly free federal tax preparation software and e-filing services is at TaxACT.com.

It's FAFSA Time

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 10:41:45 -0500

2nd Story Software, Inc., developers of what critics and users alike denote as being America's #1 value-priced tax preparation software, announces TaxACT 2006 Deluxe makes preparing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) easier for the 2007-2008 school year with its new College Student Financial Aid Worksheet.

The FAFSA (The Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is an extremely critical financial aid form which all students requesting federal financial aid must file. Much like filling out a bank loan application, the FAFSA qualifies how much federal aid a student is eligible to receive (in the form of grants or loans) based on U.S. Department of Education guidelines - including information such as your family's assets and previous year income.

Jump-start Your Tax-Saving Strategy - It's Never Too Soon

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 10:40:45 -0500

2nd Story Software®, Inc., developers of America's most trusted, value-priced tax preparation software, announces the release and immediate availability of TaxACT® 2006 Preview and, for the third year, TaxACT Online Preview. TaxACT's Preview version helps taxpayers simplify the complexities of devising an effective tax-savings strategy.

TaxACT.com, the only Web-based tax planning and preparation solution to offer taxpayers a year-round solution, provides consumers the choice between two platforms: TaxACT Online (over-the-Web) or TaxACT software (a download file that installs to their hard drive). Both platforms enable users to perform a FREE, end-of the-year check-up - helping to minimize their tax bill and maximize personal savings.

TaxACT and Paylocity Forge Tax Time Alliance

Tue, 10 Oct 2006 10:39:09 -0500

2nd Story Software®, Inc., developers of America's most trusted, value-priced tax preparation software, announces its alliance with Paylocity Corporation, America's leading independent provider of payroll and integrated human resource solutions for small and mid-size companies.

The association between these two companies enables the employees of Paylocity clients the ability to download tax data found on their electronic W-2 form directly into TaxACT Deluxe over-the-Web. TaxACT Deluxe's Fast-Forms feature is a simple point-and-click interface, which permits users to select Paylocity as their payroll provider and (after providing authentication information) begin downloading their W-2 information directly into TaxACT Deluxe. Meanwhile, TaxACT Deluxe's on-screen messaging keeps its users informed about the download process.