There are several types of Tax Preparation software on the market. There are packages for individuals and CPA's and a number of online sites to help walk you through the tax preparation process. Tax preparation software can save hours on your tax return prep time.

With features, such as built in audits, that alert you of critical calculation errors and missing information. Asset management utilities can make keeping track of assets a breeze. Refund calculators can give you a quick refund estimate while inputting just a few items.

Many of the packages built for use by CPA firms have features such as client organizers. These packets can be printed and sent out to clients to have them write down critical information and to help remind them to bring certain necessary forms and information to the actual tax prep appointment. Custom letters can allow you to print a custom letter for each client or a list of clients.

New advances in technology allow you to Electronically File your return (E-file). E-filing your return can be very beneficial for several reasons. First, the IRS will receive your return much quicker. Second, the IRS is able to process e-filed returns much quicker due to the electronic format of the tax information.

How can you benefit from e-filing? Quicker processing equals quicker refund return. In fact, E-file has become so popular that several different software packages are offering E-file for free. Benefits of e-filing are:

* Fast - No more driving to the post office or waiting for the mail.
* Accurate - The program checks for errors and missing information so you don't have to.
* Easy - TaxWorks offers an intuitive, step-by-step process for e-filing returns, and allows you to e-file multiple state and federal returns at the same time.
* Quicker Refunds - Cut your processing time in half and receive your refund in half the time, too!
* Peace of Mind - The IRS acknowledges receipt of the tax return, eliminating any worry that the return was lost. Check Your Refund
* Payment Options - When you e-file your return, you can pay the balance due at any time during the filing season, whether it's January 15th or April 15th. You can also pay electronically by credit card or electronic funds withdrawal.

Whether you are looking for personal tax return software packages, or large packages geared more towards a CPA firm, these new advances in tax preparation software are sure to take the worry and stress out of your tax season this year.

Molly Winters-Hughes writes articles to help people in filing their taxes. Taxes can be stressful, but the key is understanding them and the people who can help you do your taxes. To find help for doing your taxes with the tax professionals online at TaxWorks.com Get your taxes done today!

Article Source: Take The Pain Out Tax Season With Advancements In Tax Software - ArticleSpan.com

Better yet, I'm going to give it away at the end of February (that's the 28th this year). All you have to do is leave a comment below on this post, with a tax-related question and a valid email address, and I'll award it to one lucky commenter on the 28th.

To clarify, what you're going to get is a registration code for your choice of one of the following:

QuickTax Online Standard
QuickTax Online Platinum
QuickTax Online Unincorporated

You can see a handy comparison chart of the five different online versions here.

Your code is valid for up to 8 returns over $25,000, so most people could easily submit their whole family's taxes for free with this one QuickTax free code.

Click here for a more detailed QuickTax Review that I recently wrote.

Can't wait until the end of February?

If you're already all set to do your taxes, and you don't want to wait until the end of February to win your free code, you can get going with QuickTax online right now. All you need to do is go to the QuickTax site and open a free account. You can enter in all your tax information, and simply wait until the end of February to submit it. If you win, you can apply your code to QuickTax and be allowed to submit your taxes via e-file for free.

QuickTax Guarantees You the Biggest Possible Tax Refund!

Did you know that QuickTax is the only Canadian tax software company that guarantees that your return is accurate if you use their software? An accurate return means the biggest possible refund, and who doesn't want that?

Want to Win? IMPORTANT

Get started on your taxes today with QuickTax. Leave a comment below asking your biggest tax related question, and you could win QuickTax for Free this year. Make sure you use a valid email address for your comment!

Forms View

Once you're inside QuickTax, you have a couple of options on how to complete your taxes. If you want to, you can do everything in the forms view. This gives you the ability to basically do you taxes as you would if you were doing them by hand, going through each form and inputting the required figures. Of course the software handles all calculations and carry-overs, but the screen you're looking at resembles the official Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) tax forms.

Try QuickTax For Free

Wizard View

The other option, which is probably far more popular, is to let the QuickTax wizard guide you through all the necessary steps to complete your taxes. This is my personal preference, as you don't need to know which forms you need to deal with; the software asks me something like "Do you have charitable donations?" and if I answer yes, it gives me a box to put in how much I donated. I don't need to see the forms if I don't want to. In this manner it will walk you through your tax return. By asking questions and finding out which situations apply to you and which ones don't, the wizard is able to quickly get all the information necessary to complete your tax return.

Filing Electronically

Of course one of the benefits of using tax software to submit everything to the CRA is the fact that you can easily use E-File. QuickTax gives you a couple of options, allowing you to print out your return,
if you still want to send it in manually you can send in the printout, or it allows you to create an electronic submission file.

New Pension Income Splitting Optimizer

This year one of the cool features that Intuit has added to QuickTax is the Pension Income Splitting Optimizer. This tool automatically figures out the optimal way to divide your pension income with your spouse, allowing you to reduce your overall taxable income. Of course, this saves on the taxes you pay too.

Helps You Find More Deductions

Because QuickTax asks you questions about your situation, as soon as the wizard detects an area where you can claim additional deductions, it will pursue that. In other words, finding deductions becomes the computer's job instead of yours. If there's one thing I know, it's that I don't know the Canadian tax code nearly as well as the computer does! It sure is nice to be able to sit back and allow the computer to do the hard work of finding these deductions.

Try QuickTax For Free

RRSP Contribution Calculator

The other thing that QuickTax does is calculate the optimal way to split your RRSP contributions between yourself and your spouse, as well as quickly tell you how much your return will increase if you contribute another X dollars. This little tool has saved me many headaches in the past, as it is so easy to simply move the sliders around to find out what difference changing a few dollars will make. You can also just tell QuickTax to optimize things, and it will find the way for you to save the most amount automatically.

Electronic Submission is Eeeeeeeasy!

Based on past experience, once my tax return was complete to the point that I was satisfied it was accurate, it only takes about 2 minutes to actually submit it to the CRA using E-File. Plus, you don't have to send in any receipts, unless they specifically ask for them at a later date. Be warned that if they choose to audit you, you will need to provide your receipts, so just because you're sending your taxes electronically you must still keep all your receipts anyways.

QuickTax has a version just for YOU

QuickTax comes in several different versions, depending on your requirements. They have versions that are ideal for simple personal tax returns, as well as different business versions, including one for incorporated businesses. If you're not sure which version is best for you, simply visit QuickTax, scroll part way down the page and click on "Help Me Choose" - a short questionnaire will determine the best package for you.

Another cool feature about QuickTax is that you can try it out for free. If you've never filed your taxes electronically before, and you're not sure whether or not you want to, all you have to do is download (for free) the QuickTax software. You can install it and then play around in it. The best way to determine if QuickTax is right for you is to actually install it and then start walking through the wizard with your tax information.

If you decide to go ahead and use QuickTax for your 2008 tax return, all you have to do is register the copy you've downloaded. Intuit gives you a few different options; you can either do this through their website, or by phone. Enter your code and now you can submit everything.

There are a few reasons I can think of why you might still be undecided about using QuickTax.

Try QuickTax Now

Excuse #1: You've Never Used Tax Software Before

If you've never used tax preparation software before, let me just tell you that you're in for a treat this year. Software saves you so much time by automating all of the calculation and the confusing parts of your taxes. It provides a simple, user friendly interface that allows you to get it done right, and quickly.

Excuse #2: You Don't Think It's Worth the $14.99

If you don't think QuickTax is worth $14.99, then my guess is you've never used tax software before. In answer to this, I would recommend installing the QuickTax free download and taking a few moments to walk through it and see the benefits for yourself. My guess is you'll quickly see how much easier QuickTax is than doing your taxes by hand. If you think it is worth it at that point, cool. If not, fine, you haven't lost anything.

Excuse #3: You Think You Can Get a Better Refund Than the Computer

If there's one thing that computers are good at, and only thing only, it is calculating! In fact, computers are just glorified calculators, right? QuickTax turns your computer into a tax calculator, and if you're doing your taxes manually, you're going to have to work long and hard to get everything maximized to the same level that QuickTax will do it for you in seconds. Trust me, it's not worth the effort! Get a computer to do it.

NOTE: Leave a comment here to win a free copy of QuickTax

Just like most tax software, CompleteTax starts out by running through a series of question, from which it determines which tax scenarios are applicable to your situation. Each section then gets a tab of its own. A little tip, make sure that you mark the tab complete once you've finished with it; that lets the software know it doesn't need to remind you about that one anymore.

CompleteTax is able to handle both basic and complex tax scenarios, including dependents, W-2's, royalties, rental properties, home offices and depreciation. A fairly comprehensive help file is included, giving you the answers to the most commonly asked questions, as well as helping you find out where to enter certain amounts in the program.

Some of the benefits of using CompleteTax are as follows:

FREE Electronic Filing with Paid Processing - once you've prepared your tax return using CompleteTax, the system is able to submit it electronically to the IRS.

Prepares Both Federal & Resident State Returns - no matter what your status is, CompleteTax has everything required for you to complete all your taxes. No matter your location or residency status, they've got what you need.

Get a Faster Refund - With electronic filing, if you're owed a refund, you can get it deposited directly into your bank account within two weeks. You don't wait for weeks while your paper return is processed and then even longer while your check is mailed to you.

FREE Email Support & Available Online Chat Services - if you've got a question regarding your taxes, simply ask the experts!

Useful Federal Tax Guide - Get useful tax tips on how to minimize your taxes and maximize your refunds.

Conveniently Pay A Balance on Your Taxes by Credit Card - need any more be said?

However, since the year 2000, tax filing software has matured in leaps and bounds.

In my opinion, using tax software is by far the easiest way to get your taxes done. I can remember back in the "old" days of paper and pencil, fighting with all those myriad of tax forms, carrying balances from one form to another, finally ending up with a total that I hoped and prayed was right, because I really didn't want to do it all again.

Now, with tax filing software, it is so easy to plug in your numbers in the correct boxes (the software prompts you for everything, and asks for everything specifically). Most of the software out there will ask you if certain situations apply to you, and if they do, they'll ask you questions relevant to that. In this way, as long as you have all your paperwork together, it really doesn't take long to finish your taxes.

The other benefit to e-filing your taxes is that you don't need to send in your receipts unless you are audited. So you save a tiny bit on postage, and more importantly, if the IRS is able to process your return electronically, you'll typically get your tax return faster than if you had sent it all in by paper.

This makes sense, if you think about it, because the IRS can then have their software analyze your return instead of having a human look at all of your paperwork. They already know the calculations are correct, because it was prepared by software, so unless you return signals something to them, they can rubber stamp it a whole lot quicker.

So not only do you use less of your government's resources, you also get your money back quicker!

Have a look around the rest of this site for great ideas about how to submit your taxes electronically, income tax filing software and a few tax tips to boot!

(Hint: Sign up for our e-newsletter on the right for 2009 tax tips right in your inbox!)