Have you told your employees about Free File?

After the January 31^st deadline for mailing out W-2 forms employees turn to the task of completing their tax returns. The IRS is trying to make it easier for employees to complete the paperwork through a no cost on line program called Free File for employees with a 2007 adjusted gross income of $54,000 or less.

Free File works with a consortium of 19 tax preparation software providers. When taxpayers go to the Free File Home Page they start the process that includes questions that help direct them to choose the correct software choice. You can spread the word about this program using a set of materials that the IRS created for employers to distribute. Materials are available in English and Spanish and include items like an easy to read payroll stuffer and a Spanish home page.

The IRS estimates that more than 95 million Americans are eligible to file their taxes using Free File. During the 2007 tax season almost 3.9 million eligible filers used Free File. These users rated the service very highly with 98 percent telling Russell Research that they would recommend Free File to a friend and 95 percent plan to use it again this year.

If your workforce includes employees who earned $54,000 or less in 2007 publicizing the service is an easy way to help them save money on tax preparation and spread some good news about the IRS.