Julie Davis stands in the parking lot at University Hospital and laughs at her friend Kate Coleman. Coleman's taking a few hours off work to finish her taxes.
"I won't find time later, and time's getting short," she says."I'm done," Davis says. "I got a computer program -- Quicken's TurboTax -- and did mine as soon as I got all my W-2 forms from work. I think maybe I'll go home and take a little nap," she playfully tells her friend.
If it sounds like she's bragging, she is. A little. But she's just one of the thousands of Americans -- the ones lucky enough to be getting tax returns -- who have already filed their 1999 taxes.
A whole lot of the rest of us are just starting to think seriously about beginning the annual ritual of settling up accounts with the federal and state governments.
If you belong to the latter group and you have access to a computer and the World Wide Web, there's plenty of extra expertise available, and it's only a few mouse clicks away.
A search of Web sites finds multiple pages of listing for preparing taxes, from the sites that answer frequently asked questions to those that will literally do the calculations. At some of the sites -- usually for a small fee -- you can file electronically, which expedites getting a refund.
It's not possible for a single article to list all the programs available to help. But perhaps procrastinators will find something here to get them started.
The official IRS Web site is a good place to begin. By visiting www.irs.ustreas.gov, one can download all the tax forms imaginable (and some you wouldn't dream of needing; more than 600 forms in all). Forget those hurried trips to the post office or the library. The entire tax-form library is online.
So are tips, explanations of the changes in the tax law and a list of frequently asked questions, as well as their answers.
Two commercial software programs dominate a field that's surprisingly full: Intuit's TurboTax and its MacInTax counterpart and Kiplinger Tax Cut (by Block Financial Corp., a child of H&R Block).
The programs are for people who have all their paperwork but no interest in filling out their forms and performing the calculations themselves. TurboTax takes the taxpayer through an "interview" and also allows seamless access to the product's Web site. It takes information and transfers it to other appropriate spots (an example is dependent information transferred to the child care credit form), imports data from the previous year's tax form if it was also prepared with a compatible tax program and even goes into Quicken checking accounts (or any program that has a TXF file) to add in things like charitable deductions.
State tax forms and preparation are also available, and you can e-file your return for a small fee (included free in the deluxe version of the program).
Perhaps most interesting to people who are in a hurry, you can prepare and file tax returns online at the TurboTax Web site, www.turbotax.com for $9.95 each, without buying any software program.
Kiplinger TaxCut has many of the same features as TurboTax, including an audit at the end of the return to check for potential errors, a running calculation of taxes owed (or due back) and other features. And again, like TurboTax, it begins with a question-and-answer section to decide filing status and forms needed. There's also a streamlined program for people who know exactly what they're doing and just want to get it done. Its Web site is www.taxcut.com.
A big difference between the two programs is the ability to view last year's tax return on the same screen, so that information that hasn't changed is very easy to put in. Electronic filing is free, the program costs from $14.95 to $39.95, depending on which version you want. And, if you're desperate to get your refund back yesterday, you can have an advance sent to your bank, minus fees for the service. State return programs are $19.95 but include electronic filing.
But what about getting tax help when you don't necessarily want to buy software?
One of the best Web sites is called Essential Links, www.el.com/elinks/taxes. It offers taxpayer tips, information on where to get help, rules, tax code, financial planners, tax preparers, forms, publications, instructions, deductions and filing. It also has direct links to the IRS, the IRS newsletter, the Digital Daily, tax resources, Ernst & Young's tips, news, humor, tools and information."
Blue House Links, www.blue-house.com/taxes/ is another pretty comprehensive site. It has a long list of links that will tie you in with almost any aspect of tax time, including daily tax tips, IRS forms and publications, a discussion of the "marriage penalty," tips on audit-proofing your return, tax software like that mentioned above, a survival kit and more. It is linked in to some humorous sites, like one that promises to tell you "how to annoy the IRS," as well as offering the text of the entire U.S. Tax Code, sure to be stimulating reading.
It also provided links to different groups, from the Tax Reduction Institute to the Citizens for an Alternative Tax System.
Deloitte and Touche has a "Tax Planning Guide" online: www.dtonline.com/taxguide99/
Want a name you can remember? How about www.1040.com? It has a news room, "Taxing Subjects," federal and state forms, state addresses and links, filing information and more.
It seems, in fact, that everyone wants to help you do your taxes. Libraries, service organizations, special-interest groups, even non-IRS government agencies offer tax tips. For instance, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development maintains a Web page (reached through www.hud.gov that provides "Neighborhood Network News," including help finding local Volunteer Income Tax Assistance or American Association of Retired Persons help in your own community. For the AARP program, those seeking help need to be low- to middle-income. But you don't have to be a senior citizen.