SnapTax App Simplifies 1040EZ Tax Filing

Will you be filing a simple 1040EZ form for your taxes this year? Do you have an iPhone or an Android smartphone that you enjoy using for everything to make your life simpler? If the answer to both of those questions is yes then there’s a good chance that you’ll be interested in a new app called SnapTax.

SnapTax is a 1040EZ tax filing app made by Intuit. That name sounds familiar to you because it is the company that created the TurboTax software that so many people use to file their taxes online. They decided that since so many people these days are accessing the Internet through their mobile phones, it was about time to make a tax filing app to help their customers.

The app uses image-recognition technology to “look” at your W-2 form. It reads the information and then figures out what your income tax return should be. Of course, you are asked to review the return for accuracy before you actually submit the form through the mobile app. You want to make sure that SnapTax works properly. The whole thing takes about fifteen minutes, which is really fast for filing your taxes!

SnapTax isn’t for everyone. In order to be able to file your taxes using this app you must be making under a certain amount of income. If you’re filing as an individual then you need to be earning less than $80,000. If you’re filing as a married couple then you need to be earning less than $100,000 as a household. This cap is slightly lower than the cap set by the IRS for 1040EZ tax filing so there will be some people who do qualify to file a 1040EZ form but don’t qualify to use the app to do it.

Although this mobile app is not for everyone, it hints at what is to come in the future. There was a time not that long ago when it was unusual for regular people to file their taxes online. Now it’s common. As mobile applications becoming increasingly available (as well as increasingly advanced) it will be more and more common for people to use these apps for various personal finance activities including filing taxes.

Some of the benefits of being able to file your taxes through an app on your mobile phone include:

o You can file from anywhere that your phone gets an Internet connection. You aren’t tied down to a desk in your office and home computer in order to do your taxes anymore. You can do them on a bus, train or plane if you want to. This is what makes mobile banking in general appealing to so many people.

o It simplifies the process of calculating your taxes. Like filing taxes using tax software online, mobile app tax forms are a lot simpler for most people to understand than the pen-and-paper option.

o It’s affordable. Intuit only charges $15 for each filing through the SnapTax app. That’s not a lot of money considering how much it can simplify your tax form submission process.

Would you try using a mobile app to file your taxes? Why or why not?

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