Draft 2011 tax return software options

December 13, 2011

I'm sure that by now all y'all have followed my first piece of year-end tax advice: Do a draft tax return.

What? You haven't yet done a dry run to see what you're 2011 tax bill (or refund) might be? I'm as shocked, shocked as Capt. Renault.

Well, this time your procrastination seems to have paid off.

My tax-blogging colleague William Perez today previews the three major tax preparation software programs' abilities to provide you with an advance look of your 2011 taxes.

"Yesterday I sat down to figure out what my taxes might look like for 2011," says William. "Drafting out a tax return for me had two purposes: figuring out if I need to make any additional tax payments, and also figuring out whether engaging in any year-end moves would be worthwhile."

I'll let you head on over to his assessment at About.com Tax Planning: U.S. of how well TaxACT, TurboTax and H&R Block At Home worked for him in his preliminary calculations.

And if you can make some time between shopping and attending holiday events, not to mention that pesky work that gets in the way every year about this time, do run a draft tax return.

You might find that you'll have enough coming back to pay for that special Christmas gift.

You also might find these items of interest:

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The More Tax Posts tab at the top of this page will take you to, well, more tax posts. You also can search below for a tax topic.

Tax Season 2026 Continues!

We made it. Tax Day 2025 is finally over. For most of us. When the filing season started on Jan. 26, millions who were expecting refunds filed immediately. Most of us got our returns to the Internal Revenue Service by April 15. But plenty of taxpayers also got extensions. They are looking at an Oct. 15 filing deadline.

Those procrastinating filers aren’t a problem. In fact, the IRS appreciates taxpayers who take time to fill out their 1040 forms correctly. It also is grateful that tax submissions are spread out a bit, especially now that the IRS is a leaner agency. Processing returns is easier when they arrive throughout the year instead of in massive bunches.

But enough about Uncle Sam’s tax collection issues. The focus now is on all y’all who filed for extensions, giving you another six months to complete your return. Since your new mid-October due date will be here before you know it, let’s get started now on meeting it.

The ol’ blog is here to help you finish up your extended Form 1040. You can start with January’s tax tips page, which has links to the rest of the year’s tips by-month collections. You also can peruse various tax categories for more tailored advice by clicking on the More Tax Posts drop-down menu at the top of this (and every) page.

And to make sure you don’t miss your new filing deadline, the count-down clock below will let you know just how much time you to file by Oct. 15. At the latest.e. (Note: I’m in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.)

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Filing and Paying Taxes

Politics/Laws

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Tax Brackets/Inflation

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