Filing My Own 2023 Taxes in 2024 - Paper Forms vs Electronic Options
I'm tackling my own taxes this year for the first time - went old school with paper forms and a pen! Feels kinda satisfying but now I'm wondering about submitting them. My wife and I are filing married jointly, and our household income is just over the threshold for all those free e-file options the IRS promotes. From what I can tell, mailing in our federal and state returns, then dropping off the city forms at the local tax office is probably our cheapest route? I'm not thrilled about paying $50+ just to file electronically when I've already done all the work myself. Is there any other option I'm missing that would be cheaper than paying for electronic filing? Any hidden free services for people who've completed their own forms? Or am I stuck with stamps and envelopes at this point?
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Edward McBride
The paper filing route is absolutely a valid option! While e-filing is faster for processing and refunds, there's nothing wrong with mailing in your returns if you've already completed the forms yourself. Just a few tips if you go the paper route: Make copies of EVERYTHING before mailing. Use certified mail with tracking for both federal and state returns so you have proof of when they were received. Also, be aware that paper returns typically take 6-8 weeks to process versus 3 weeks for electronic returns. One option you might not know about is the IRS Free File Fillable Forms. It's free regardless of income and lets you e-file federal returns. The catch is you still have to know how to complete the forms yourself (which you already do), but it gives you electronic submission without cost. State returns would still need to be handled separately.
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Darcy Moore
•Wait... so Free File Fillable Forms is different from the Free File program with the income limits? I thought they were the same thing. Is this on the IRS website? Does it work if you have slightly more complex situations like investment income or a home office deduction?
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Edward McBride
•Free File Fillable Forms is indeed different from the income-limited Free File program with tax software. It's available to everyone regardless of income, directly through the IRS website. You can find it by searching "IRS Free File Fillable Forms" or going through the IRS.gov site. It does handle more complex situations including investment income and home office deductions, but you need to know which forms to complete. The system won't guide you through questions like commercial tax software - it's essentially just the electronic version of paper forms. You'll need to complete Schedule C for business deductions and Schedule D for investments just as you would on paper.
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Dana Doyle
I was in the same boat last year and discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) after struggling with paper forms for hours. I'd already filled everything out by hand but wanted to double-check my work before sending it off. The site lets you upload images of your completed tax forms and it analyzes them for potential errors or missed deductions - saved me from making a $1,200 mistake on my home office deduction! It was so much easier than paying for full tax software when I'd already done most of the work.
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Liam Duke
•That sounds interesting but seems too good to be true. How does it compare your forms against what you should be getting? Like does it know your specific tax situation or just look for mathematical errors?
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Manny Lark
•Do they charge you after analyzing your forms? I'm trying to AVOID paying for electronic filing so if this is just another way to get me to pay for e-filing, I'm not interested.
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Dana Doyle
•It works by using AI to scan your completed forms and compare the information against tax rules - kind of like having a tax pro review your work. It identifies inconsistencies between forms and spots common errors like miscalculated deductions or credits you might qualify for based on the information you've provided. No, it's not an e-filing service. It's strictly for reviewing your already completed returns to catch mistakes before you submit them. You still mail in your forms yourself or use the IRS Free File Fillable Forms that someone mentioned above. The whole point is accuracy before submission so you don't have to file an amended return later, which is a much bigger headache.
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Manny Lark
I was skeptical about taxr.ai at first, but after seeing some comments here I gave it a try last week. Glad I did! I was about to mail in my forms when it caught that I had totally messed up my student loan interest deduction and missed out on some education credits. Would have cost me about $800! The analysis took like 5 minutes and highlighted exactly what I needed to fix on my forms. Then I just used the Free File Fillable Forms to submit electronically instead of mailing them.
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Rita Jacobs
If you're waiting on a refund and need to contact the IRS about your paper return, good luck getting through on the phone! After mailing my return last year, I spent weeks trying to check on my refund status. Finally found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of the hours of hold time I was experiencing. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - honestly changed my whole perspective on dealing with the IRS.
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Khalid Howes
•Wait I don't understand how this works... does this service somehow let you skip the IRS phone queue? How is that even possible? The IRS phone lines are notoriously backed up.
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Ben Cooper
•Sounds like a scam. There's no way to "skip the line" with the IRS. They're a government agency with limited resources. You wait like everyone else. I'd be very careful about giving any personal info to a service claiming to get you special access.
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Rita Jacobs
•The service works by using an automated system that continuously redials the IRS using the appropriate phone tree options until it gets through. When a line opens up, it connects you directly to that spot in the queue. It's not actually "skipping" - it's just handling the frustrating redial process for you. I was skeptical too at first, but it's completely legitimate. You don't provide any tax information or personal financial details to the service - it just helps establish the phone connection with the IRS. Once you're connected, you're talking directly with the IRS agent just like any normal call. The difference is you didn't have to spend hours hitting redial or waiting on hold.
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Ben Cooper
OK I need to eat my words from yesterday. After getting frustrated waiting on hold for 2+ hours trying to check on my refund, I decided to try Claimyr out of desperation. Within 20 minutes I was talking to an actual human at the IRS who helped resolve my issue. I would have wasted another day on hold without it. For anyone filing paper returns like the OP is planning to do, this is actually worth knowing about because paper returns often require follow-up calls.
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Naila Gordon
Have you looked into tax software that lets you prepare everything yourself but then just pay a smaller fee for only the e-filing portion? Some programs let you work through everything for free, then charge $15-20 just for the state and federal transmission rather than the full $50+ for the complete service. Might be a middle ground between completely free paper filing and the more expensive full-service options.
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Gael Robinson
•I didn't know that was an option! Most of the ones I looked at wanted the full payment upfront before even starting. Do you have specific ones you'd recommend that let you pay just for the filing part? I've already filled out all my forms so I'm really just looking for the electronic submission part.
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Naila Gordon
•FreeTaxUSA is pretty good for this approach. You can complete your federal return for free, then it's just $15 for the state portion. Some others like TaxAct and TaxSlayer have similar options where the federal basic filing is free and you just pay for state. If you've literally already completed the physical forms with a pen, then using the IRS Free File Fillable Forms mentioned above is your best bet. You'll just need to transfer the information from your paper forms to the electronic versions. There's a bit of duplicate work, but it's free and gives you the e-file benefits.
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Cynthia Love
Don't forget to make copies of everything before mailing!!! Learned this the hard way when the IRS claimed they never received my return two years ago and I had no proof. Such a nightmare. Also if ur expecting a refund, paper filing will slow it down by weeks or months compared to e-filing.
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Darren Brooks
•Certified mail with return receipt is essential too. It's a few extra dollars at the post office but gives you proof of when they received it. I file on paper every year and always use certified mail after having a return "lost" in 2018.
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