1. It’s easier. Tax preparation software prefills a lot of information (especially if you get your W2 online). It’s quicker to punch in numbers on your keyboard than to try to write it all out legibly.

2. Fewer mistakes. Again, tax preparation software makes it easier by doing all the math for you. Fewer mistakes mean a return that is processed faster.

3. No missing tax breaks. The tax program you use will be loaded with all the new tax rules and allowable deductions, whereas some IRS forms this year have some deduction lines missing and taxpayers who don’t know about those deductions can miss some important tax savings.

4. It’s faster. The IRS estimates that it processes electronically-filed tax returns in half the time it takes to process paper returns.

Buying a good tax preparation software might save you money and pay for itself. If your adjusted gross income is less than $52,000, you can use the IRS’s Free File service by choosing an e-file partner company from the IRS website. Electing for direct deposit saves time too and gets your refund to you even faster.

Surveys have shown that women invest in the stock market far less than men do; they have a different view on the risks and possible gains and are much less confident of their ability to invest wisely. But, when they do try the stock market, they generally do better than men, choosing dependable stocks and ignoring the get-rich-quick options.

Kiplinger suggests that couples should invest together, thereby complementing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. The man can encourage investments in higher yield stocks and the woman restrain him from his wilder excesses.

Which seems like a good plan to me!

The benefits at a job are sometimes equally as important as salary, especially when it comes to health plans. But whereas working for a large corporation might offer you more room for advancement and a higher salary, it is less likely to offer a health plan without employer-paid contributions.

The number of US private-sector workers who were enrolled in employer-sponsored health plans that do not require employee contributions fell by one third between 1998 and 2004. In 1998, 35% of all workers were enrolled in such plans, but that number dropped to 24% by 2004.

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality, your best chance for being enrolled in a no-contribution plan was at a company with fewer than 50 employees. More than half the workers in such companies were not required to pay contributions towards their health care plans. Only 14% of workers employed by larger companies were enrolled in contribution-free plans.

Enrollment in Health Plans With Employer-Paid Premiums Drops by a Third

At a forum in Omaha, Nebraska, yesterday, taxpayers were given an opportunity by the IRS to air their grievances with the tax system. The range of complaints was wide and included one account of being kept on hold for forty minutes after asking a simple question, others worried about identity theft, and some objected to being taxed at all.

The next forum will be in Phoenix and will concentrate on the problems experienced by the elderly. Although there was no information regarding how many of the complaints and suggestions would be acted upon, it is refreshing to see the IRS listening.

Forum Lets Taxpayers Turn Tables on IRS