CLICK & DOUBLE CLICK: MORE PEOPLE TURN TO INTERNET TO FILE STATE, FEDERAL INCOME TAXES (COLUMN 135)

Have you filed yet? The clock is ticking to April 15. And the buzz on the Internet is about electronic filing. Even if you don't file your return online, you can find lots of tax advice and information on the Internet.

The number of tax returns filed electronically has shot up 156 percent since last year, probably thanks to promises of faster refunds.

The IRS says the refund turnaround time is an average of 15 days compared to 35 days minimum for paper returns.

Over the weekend, an estimated 34 million Americans had yet to file their income tax returns. If you are running late, the IRS recommends you file an extension. Not having the right forms isn't a good excuse for filing late. The IRS makes forms available online.

www.irs.gov

Joni: Interestingly enough, the IRS is pushing online filing at its Internet home. It is also encouraging making payment by credit card or debit card from your checking or savings account.

Peggy: They also answer tons of questions about filing. We might mention that both of us filed taxes with help of our home computer and the Internet. I've been doing electronic taxes for three years.

Joni: The IRS lists a number of e-file partnerships, companies like TurboTax, SecureTax, H&R Block and many others.

Peggy: You can file for an extension online also. All the forms are available. You can just print them to your home computer's printer.

Joni: It has lots of tax stats about refunds, collections, number of returns and taxpayer assistance.

Peggy: You can get instructions and publications. It also has fill-in forms. Fill them in online and then print them out. It's great for those of us with bad handwriting.

Joni: You can also link to state tax forms, and you can actually get tax forms back to 1992 online. They are available in PDF file format. You need Adobe Acrobat reader. The government typically posts information in PDF format, which looks like a regular text page but is also searchable by key words. It's great.

Peggy: Let's look at Missouri's online tax help.

www.dor.state.mo.us/tax/redesign.htm

Joni: It's very similar here. All the forms are available. You just need Adobe Acrobat reader to take a look.

Peggy: It also talks about e-filing. Only two providers have Missouri online filing from your home computer: SecureTax and TurboTax.

Joni: Wonder who files online? The average Missouri taxpayer who files online has access to a computer with Internet, is between the ages of 30 and 44 and has an average gross adjusted income of $52,323. Typically he is married, with an average of 1.1 dependents.

Peggy: You can find lots of tax information and answers to questions. Tax departments also have lots of online publications, tables and charts.

Joni: They also have all the telephone numbers and addresses for field offices throughout the state, including the office in Cape Girardeau.

Peggy: If you are thinking about testing the law, know that your case may well end up online for everyone to read. Summaries of court cases against individuals and businesses are found on the Web site.

Joni: For more general tax information and forms, take a look at 1040.com

www.1040.com

Peggy: Tax departments have a collection of news stories about taxes. For example you can read about tax law changes for 1998 and tax information for ordinary people.

Joni: You can also download the IRS bulletin board files from here. The nice thing is that they are in multiple formats, text files, Word documents, etc.

Peggy: Another well-known player in the tax preparation field is H&R Block. It is the No. 1 tax preparer, preparing one of seven returns filed.

www.handrblock.com

Joni: You can estimate your tax refund online, download federal and state tax forms and play its "You Play, We Pay Your Taxes" game.

Peggy: Let's look at the refund calculator. Fill in five questions, and it will give you an estimated refund amount.

Joni: This is the third year it has offered the "You Play, We Pay" game, which concluded earlier. Late filers didn't have a chance. But it does connect you to Cool Savings, the online coupon site. Next year's game starts in mid-January.

Peggy: Two of the biggest online tax programmers are TurboTax and SecureTax. Let's take a look.

www.turbotax.com

Joni: You can download a free TurboTax 1040 trial from the Web site. You can also get up-to-date tax information concerning updates for people and businesses. It also has a tax estimator online that uses Quicken. If you file with TurboTax, you can check on the status of your filing online. Let's look at SecureTax.

www.securetax.com

Peggy: It features a two-minute refund estimator. You can also download 4,000 tax forms online.

Joni: This is interesting. SecureTax is Internet-based, which is different than TurboTax. There is no software to install.

Peggy: It says if you file online and request direct deposit, you will get your refund in eight days.

Joni: It will send you an e-mail reminder when tax tools are ready for 1999, in case you want to get an early start next year. What, file early? Where's the fun in that?

Peggy: What is your favorite tax site? E-mail us at click@semissourian.com

See you in Cyberspace.

~Peggy Scott and Joni Adams are members of the Southeast Missourian online staff.