Taxes on the Web

Staff -- Library Journal, 3/1/2000

The Internet is a rich resource for tax-related information. There are portals devoted to tax sites, sites offering tax advice, online tax preparation, tax news, and tax policy. The Internal Revenue Service site and its state counterparts contain forms, publications, and e-mail links.

No one site can replace the personal advice of a tax professional. However, online tax preparation sites can prepare returns in the same manner as software packages -- and speed refunds. The better sites can save time spent searching for tax forms or advice on the telephone or at the library

The sites still don't have the editorial content found in such recent bestsellers as What the IRS Doesn't Want You To Know (Villard, rev. ed., 2000) by New York City CPA Marty Kaplan. Still, the better sites present information previously available only to tax professionals, such as the Internal Revenue Manual (the IRS's operating guide), IRS rulings, and news releases.

Tax and Accounting Sites Directory
http://www.taxsites.com
Date Visited: 1/26/00
Developer/Provider: Schmidt Enterprises, LLC
While not providing original content, this portal -- run by an accounting professor -- organizes tax information well for professionals and nonprofessionals, linking to the IRS web site, all 50 state departments of revenue, tax practitioner associations, and tax publications. It has its own search engine, but the links are the best way to find specific tax information.

Taxsites is even preferable to the well-done IRS official web site because its IRS Pages -- within Tax Sites -- breaks down that complicated site into alphabetized specific topics, such as Information for Individuals or Electronic Filing for Individuals. The Tax Forms link takes users to 1999 IRS tax forms.

Taxsites is broken into three sections, but Tax Sites is the key. Within it, Help-Tips-Articles links to the many sites that provide tax advice, such as TurboTax and TaxCut (see below). That section also links to the IRS Q&A link.

The State Taxes link in the Tax Sites section takes browsers to the state department of revenue web sites, with sublinks to tax forms, state statute sites, administrative codes, judicial information, and state accounting societies. The Bookstore links to Amazon.com and features many popular tax titles.

The Federal Tax Law link in the Tax Sites section provides subcategories for tax legislation, tax code, regulations, court decisions, and more. Within each of these subcategories are links to specific sites, identified as either free or subscription-based. The portal lists several different sources for the Internal Revenue Code. The inclusion of payroll-related sites is unusual in such directories.

The portal does not comment on the quality of the sites but does point out the currency of tax law information. Advertising is unobtrusive. Clicking on a link leads users out of this portal rather than opening up a new browser.

The Bottom Line: Taxsites organizes tax-related web sites better than any other portal, serves as an excellent source for research, and even improves on the IRS web site. For the nonprofessional, Quicken (below) offers a more consumer-friendly design.

Quicken.com
http://www.quicken.com/taxes/
Date Visited: 1/27/00
Developer/Provider: Intuit, Inc.
The site for Intuit's Quicken software excels in most respects. Especially useful is the Tax Filing Center, in the middle of Taxes homepage. This section discusses what tax records to keep, common deductions, and audit-avoidance tips.

A sidebar at left throughout the Taxes section offers tools: the 1999 TurboTax Tax Estimator, the Roth IRA planner, tax calculators (including those for capital gains and taxable equivalent yields), and tax forms and publications. A link to Quicken Solutions promotes the company's TurboTax (see below) and WebTurboTax products.

The Tax Filing Center, in the center of the Taxes page, links to well-written sections on tax-smart saving and investing, filing, a tax discussion group, a tax expert column, and taxes Q&A. The site has a panel of experts who give solid answers to posted tax questions.

For example, an article (under Taxes Quick Answers) on the tax benefits of home ownership links to the IRS web site on forms and publications if the viewer needs a particular form. The reference to the home mortgage interest deduction provides a useful flow chart.

Click on the toolbar at top to return to the Taxes homepage. At right of the toolbar, the Small Business section contains an Owner's Handbook with a Taxes chapter, found under Forms and Tools in the left sidebar. While there is some useful information on payroll taxes, sales taxes, etc., from tax publisher CCH, it could be more specific.

The Bottom Line: For most individuals, Quicken is the best tax web site due to its clear advice and layout. For state and local taxes and a more detailed introduction to the IRS web site, Taxsites is the better choice.

Will Yancey's Home Page
http://www.willyancey.com
Date Visited: 1/26/00
Developer/Provider: Will Yancey, Ph.D., CPA
Accountant Will Yancey's Home Page is similar in format to Taxsites and links directly to it for federal and international tax resources. However, what distinguishes this site is its excellent links for state and local taxes, dealing with all types of taxes, not just income tax.

The State and Local Tax Topics links takes users to a gateway provided by Ryan & Co., the Dallas consulting firm where Yancey works. A user who selects a state finds links to the department of revenue site, state legislature, courts, and related state sites, even unclaimed property listings. The site also links a few large municipal taxing jurisdictions.

Will Yancey is not as deep as Taxsites, which links to numerous publishers of state tax newsletters and national organizations regarding state and local taxes. Will Yancey, in contrast, includes editorial comment, found under Topics in State and Local Taxation, on state tax issues. The subtopic Electronic Commerce Tax includes excellent and current links on Internet taxation, including links to other countries. Of special interest are links regarding unclaimed property, including to Swiss banks (for World War II bank accounts), unclaimed U.S. mail auctions, and state unclaimed property offices.

At the bottom of Yancey's homepage are links to excellent presentation outlines, aimed at tax professionals but accessible to all.

The Bottom Line: While not as deep as Taxsites, Will Yancey's Home Page has some unusual features and editorial content, notably links to state tax issues. Individuals will prefer Quicken for federal tax issues.

Alternate Sites
IRS Online
http://www.irs.ustreas.gov
The official IRS web site is basically well done and has sections for individuals, businesses, and tax professionals. Individual taxpayers seeking forms should click on Forms & Pubs at the bottom of the homepage. (This section also links to the Federation of Tax Administrators site, which links to state tax forms.) Finding answers to tax questions may be more complicated without the breakdown found via Quicken and Taxsites. For example, individuals with tax questions can go to Tax Info for You from the menu at the bottom of any page and then to Tax Trails, which answers tax questions. However, FAQs are listed in a different section of the site, Taxpayer Help & Ed. The Site Tree lists topics alphabetically. The search feature is confusing, because it will cite every reference to the item, including IRS technical rulings and releases.

DT Online
http://www.dtonline.com
H & R Block
http://www.hrblock.com/tax_center/index.html
Jackson Hewitt
http://www.jacksonhewitt.com
MoneyCentral
http://moneycentral.msn.com/tax/home.asp
Money Magazine
http://www.pathfinder.com/money/depts/taxes
Smart Money
http://www.smartmoney.com/ac/tax/
Tax Prophet
http://www.taxprophet.com
International CPA firm Deloitte & Touche's excellent DT Online is geared to more sophisticated taxpayers than Quicken. DT's Tax Planning Guide, found at the Tackling Your Taxes Link on the homepage, has tax sections for high-net worth individuals and real estate investors, among others. H & R Block offers Tips & Information from its leftside bar, and its Online Tax Program, under doing My Taxes, allows free filing of the 1040EZ short form; also, while the site advertises a $9.95 online tax program (from TaxCut, below), those who register can use the tax guide without purchase. Jackson Hewitt's site has tax tips listed in alphabetical order, found by selecting Tax Information at the sidebar of the homepage. MoneyCentral is the Microsoft Network's useful web site, offering questions and answers with a tax attorney, a discussion group, and tax articles. Money Magazine's site has good brief articles on how to approach a tax preparer, as well as articles and links. Smart Money's Tax Guide is aimed especially at investors. Tax Prophet, a San Francisco tax attorney, writes detailed articles on tax topics such as asset protection and stock options.

National Association of Enrolled Agents
http://www.naea.org
Taxi (IRS Tax Interactive)
http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/taxi/index.html
The National Association of Enrolled Agents site offers lists of tax representatives. The IRS and the American Bar Association offer Taxi, an informative 'zine for teenagers that explains tax terms, shows where tax dollars go, promotes electronic filing, and contains a teachers' tool kit with tax-related resources.

H.D. Vest
http://www.hdvestonline.com
H.D. Vest, a company that sells investment products through accounting professionals, offers free online tax return preparation at its web site. In return, the company hopes to recruit new clients.

Tax Attack
http://www.taxattack.com
TaxCut
http://www.taxcut.com
Tax Logic
http://www.taxlogic.com
Turbo Tax
http://www.turbotax.com
The above sites represent firms that prepare tax returns online for a fee.

Tax Analysts
http://www.tax.org
TRAC IRS
http://www.trac.syr.edu/tracirs
Tax Analysts, the nonprofit organization that provides tax information for tax practitioners, offers articles and information geared to professionals and researchers (check the Tax History Project link at left). Syracuse University's TRAC IRS site analyzes IRS audit and enforcement data and reports on IRS trends and disparities in IRS activity in different parts of the country.

Hieros gamos
http://www.hg.org
Taxworld
http://www.taxworld.org
Hieros gamos, while not as comprehensive as other portals with respect to U.S. taxes, has good international tax coverage, includes tax treaties, and is available in five languages. To reach the taxation materials, click on Practice Areas in the sidebar select S-Z, then Taxation. Taxworld, run by an accounting professor, is a scholarly tax portal, with good annotations on the links.