A Guide to Some of the Information Available From the IRS

Updated on: by Erica Martin

Need Easy Extra $350+/Month For Free?

  • SwagBucks: Watch videos, take surveys, shop and more to earn real money. Earn up to $35 per survey! No hidden fees and completely free. Join Swagbucks Now to Get $5 Free
  • InboxDollars: Has so far paid its members over $40 Million. Watch videos, take surveys, shop and more. Join InboxDollars Now and Get Free $5
  • SurveyJunkie: Make $5-$25 in your spare time from home to take online surveys, participating in a Focus Groups and trying new products. Join SurveyJunkie Now
  • Branded Surveys: Complete online surveys. Collect points. Redeem your points for cash & gift cards. No hidden fees and completely free! Has so far paid its members over $18 Million. Join Branded Surveys Now

Whether you work from home or outside of the home, chances are at some point you’ll have to deal with the IRS.  The good news is, there’s a lot of information you can get from the IRS, whether you choose to call them or visit their website.  This post will cover some of the information you can get from the IRS.

Tax Forms and Publications – 

You can go to the IRS website and download any forms or publications you need, or order them from the IRS website to be mailed directly to you..   If you choose to download them ,  you’ll find the most common tax forms listed on the left on the IRS main page.  If the form you’re looking for isn’t listed,


click on the link to go to a larger list of commonly downloaded tax forms.  If the tax form you need isn’t in the expanded list, click  on “All Tax Products” for the full list of forms and publications.  You will need Adobe Acrobat installed to view the tax forms, however.  If you don’t have Adobe Acrobat  on your computer, you can download and install it for free.  Or, if you want to conserve ink, you can order the tax forms on the web and have them mailed to you.  If you’re unsure of which form or publication you need, you can do a search online to find out more information, or you can call the IRS directly – however if you choose this option, call them on a Tuesday or Wednesday, preferably as early as possible – their wait times tend to be very long.

Find a Freefile or e-file provider

You can also find links to freefile or e-file providers on the IRS’s website.  Under “Online Services” click on “Find a freefile provider” or “Find an efile provider.”  You’ll be given a list of freefile providers – click on an appropriate link in the list to go to the website for the provider.  For efile providers, you’ll be taken to another page where you can enter your zip code – when you do you’ll be taken to a list of e-file providers in your area.

Request an electronic filing PIN –  If you click this link, you’ll be given the steps you need to take to request an electronic filing PIN. Which can be used to access past e-files and more.

Check Your Refund – If you click on this link, you’ll be taken to instructions on how to check your refund online,  which includes a link to the online tool used to check your refund, as well as a link to frequently asked questions about the tool.

Apply for an Online Payment Agreement  – If you owe a lot of money to the IRS, I highly recommend setting up a payment agreement with them.  A payment agreement will help you avoid possible actions by the IRS for failure to pay taxes, such as liens.  Click on the link, and it will take you to steps that will  help you determine your eligibility, tell you what information you need, and direct  you to the link to submit your application.

These are just some of the things you can do at the IRS website; there are many others.   If you haven’t already, I highly recommend checking out the IRS website to see all the information that’s available, as well as all the things you can do there – it is a definite timesaver, and should be used first before you call the IRS and endure their long wait times.

If you cannot find your answers online, feel good about giving the IRS a call– They are friendlier than you probably imagine!

Related Posts:

Earn Everything… nearly!

Join Ipsos iSay, one of the few Faithful and Honest survey panels and earn prizes, gift cards and donations. Stack your points and redeem them: Simple! No hidden fees and completely free!

Join Ipsos Now

Comments

Click here to post a comment...
Post comment

Katie Jones

September 20, 2011 at 10:28 am

Great, useful tips!

Lisa

September 20, 2011 at 9:50 pm

Ooh. Just thinking about the IRS and taxes gives me the heebie-jeebies! The only thing I want to see with that logo on it is a tax refund coming through the mail!

Jess Weaver

September 21, 2011 at 12:12 am

Ug I agree. I don’t wanna thing about it!