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These Apps Will Make Filing Your Taxes Way Less Painful

4 minute read
Taxes
Woman filing taxes online.Jamie Grill—Getty Images
By John Patrick Pullen

Let me start by saying that I am not a tax professional. But I am a professional who pays his taxes, and I highly recommend getting expert assistance in navigating the bureaucratic machinations that are the state and federal income tax systems.

Still, if you are planning on going it alone (or you want to get organized enough that your accountant doesn’t charge you a bundle), there are many ways technology can help you file your taxes. Let’s take a look:

Planning:

The best way to take the sting out of tax time is to make a plan and stick to it year-round. Online budgeting programs like Mint can continuously monitor your spending to keep you on the straight and narrow, while making it easier to pull out certain details once tax season comes around. But Learnvest, a financial planning program with a great educational element, can help you better understand your money, not just categorize it.

Where neither of these fit the bill, turn to Ask A CPA, a free app available on iOS and Android that shares answers to many questions asked by taxpayers, some common — “Are funeral costs deductible?” — and others not —“Can I deduct my ‘girlfriend’ who lives with me as a dependent?” — really.

Receipts:

Whether it’s keeping track of a year’s worth of healthcare payments or accounting for various business-related expenses, the long slog of shepherding your receipts can be a tough one to keep up. TurboTax ItsDeductible, which is available online or as an iPhone app, excels at keeping track of your charitable donations, whether they were goods or funds. Shoeboxed, as its cutesy name implies, helps get through the clutter of your favorite paper receptacle by not only providing a scan-by-mail service for your paper trail but also by collecting electronic receipts from your Gmail account. With an organization system approved by the IRS, it’s a great way to go paperless with confidence.

For people who would rather scan their own files, Neat offers a great combination of scanners, mobile apps, and software to keep your data categorized and easy to search. It also offers cloud backups, which is great in case something happens to your home or office computer. However you do it, make sure you keep track of IRS guidelines for keeping electronic records.

Filing:

Gone are the days of filling in forms with pencils (and littering your table with eraser bits). Now, programs like Intuit’s TurboTax (available in every permutation imaginable, from CDs to online interfaces to mobile apps) are the way most people make good with Uncle Sam. For people with relatively straightforward taxes, the app makes filing almost fun, with easy-to-follow questions and imagery to help guide your answers. Of course, these conveniences come at a cost, as the mobile software has a mind-boggling variety of in-app purchases available.

H&R Block 1040EZ 2014 keeps it simple and low-cost for iPhone users as well, with free-to-file federal returns and just $9.99 for state return preparation. But perhaps more valuable is the company’s free, in-person audit support for people who use their services.

Keeping Track:

Once you’ve submitted your income tax return information, be sure to download IRS2GoApp, which is available for both Android and iOS. The official smartphone app of the IRS, it can provide status updates on your refund as well as provide tax tips so you’re streamlined and ready to go next year.

Google's New Headquarters Looks Like a Giant Glass Forest

This rendering shows a restored natural habitat around Permanente Creek, near the proposed Landings project. You can’t tell, but a consolidated parking structure is hidden below this landscaped garden. By consolidating parking, traffic congestion is reduced in the area, making it safer and more attractive for people to walk and bike.
This rendering shows a restored natural habitat around Permanente Creek, near the proposed Landings project. You can’t tell, but a consolidated parking structure is hidden below this landscaped garden. By consolidating parking, traffic congestion is reduced in the area, making it safer and more attractive for people to walk and bike.dbox/Google
This rendering shows the entry lobby of the proposed Landings building. Consolidated parking sits below the building, helping us reach our goal of Net-Zero parking. Once at Landings, visitors can easily connect to the rest of campus through one of several walking and biking paths.
This rendering shows the entry lobby of the proposed Landings building. Consolidated parking sits below the building, helping us reach our goal of Net-Zero parking. Once at Landings, visitors can easily connect to the rest of campus through one of several walking and biking paths.dbox/Google
This rendering shows the west side of the proposed Shoreline building. The canopies along Shoreline Boulevard open onto a public plaza with retail spaces. Along the street, buildings are 2 or 3 stories, with taller areas toward the center of the structures.
This rendering shows the west side of the proposed Shoreline building. The canopies along Shoreline Boulevard open onto a public plaza with retail spaces. Along the street, buildings are 2 or 3 stories, with taller areas toward the center of the structures. dbox/Google
This bird’s eye view shows Google’s proposed new campus and its surroundings.
This bird’s eye view shows Google’s proposed new campus and its surroundings.dbox/Google
The building’s translucent canopy lifts up to allow the public Green Loop to go through the center of the building, with cafes and local shops on the lower levels.
In this rendering, Huff Avenue is transformed into a soft grid for pedestrians and bikes. The building’s translucent canopy lifts up to allow the public Green Loop to go through the center of the building, with cafes and local shops on the lower levels. dbox/Google
Mountain View’s Precise Plan encourages the creation of a diverse network of public and private open spaces such as plazas, parks and trails. This rendering shows the Green Loop, a circuit for bikes and pedestrians that weaves through urban and natural areas. A solar canopy produces energy and also protects bicyclists from the rain.
Mountain View’s Precise Plan encourages the creation of a diverse network of public and private open spaces such as plazas, parks and trails. This rendering shows the Green Loop, a circuit for bikes and pedestrians that weaves through urban and natural areas. A solar canopy produces energy and also protects bicyclists from the rain.dbox/Google
This rendering shows the inside of the proposed Charleston South building looking west. Within the canopy, building segments operate like furniture—light, tactile and reconfigurable. These segments form small villages where employees can work or relax. The Green Loop goes through the building. The rim of the canopy provides structure as well as biking and walking paths.
This rendering shows the inside of the proposed Charleston South building looking west. Within the canopy, building segments operate like furniture—light, tactile and reconfigurable. These segments form small villages where employees can work or relax. The Green Loop goes through the building. The rim of the canopy provides structure as well as biking and walking paths.dbox/Google
This rendering shows the west side of the proposed Huff project. At ground level, the environment is newly restored. Employees will be drawn from offices to the outdoors, to work alongside waterways and under trees. Mountain View residents can walk or ride along green corridors, eat at cafes, shop, play in parks, or work in the public community gardens.
This rendering shows the west side of the proposed Huff project. At ground level, the environment is newly restored. Employees will be drawn from offices to the outdoors, to work alongside waterways and under trees. Mountain View residents can walk or ride along green corridors, eat at cafes, shop, play in parks, or work in the public community gardens. dbox/Google
Large, translucent enclosures blur the boundaries between inside and out. These canopies regulate climate, pollution, and sound, while freeing spaces from traditional architectural limitations like walls, windows and roofs.
This rendering shows the northwest corner of the proposed Charleston South building. Large, translucent enclosures blur the boundaries between inside and out. These canopies regulate climate, pollution, and sound, while freeing spaces from traditional architectural limitations like walls, windows and roofs. Cafes and local shops on the lower levels open into interior open walkways under the canopy.dbox/Google
This rendering shows the northern half of the proposed Landings project. In place of parking lots and other underutilized sites, we will establish revitalized native ecosystems, including re-oaking and wetlands.
This rendering shows the northern half of the proposed Landings project. In place of parking lots and other underutilized sites, we will establish revitalized native ecosystems, including re-oaking and wetlands.dbox/Google

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