Free E-File Fillable Forms for 2009

Many people hire professional tax preparers at tax time, but there still are plenty of us who feel very comfortable directly filling out tax forms ourselves and eschew using tax software as too cumbersome and as an unnecessary expense. For tax years up to 2008, we do-it-yourself taxpayers have had access to free fillable forms (PDFs) on the IRS website, but we were forced to print and mail the forms because there was no free e-file capability to go along with the free fillable forms.

For 2009 returns, for the first time, the IRS finally has combined free fillable forms with free e-file, and there are no income limits for qualification. Just go to www.irs.gov, click the Free File link in the right hand column, and then click the Choose Free File Fillable Forms button on the next page.

On the Free File Fillable Forms website, select a userid, password, and which form, 1040, 1040A, or 1040 EZ, you want to use. Then, in Step 1, Fill Out Your Tax Forms, fill out the fields on the various forms you need for your return. The fillable forms even have a Do the math button at the bottom, which, as you can guess, does the math for you, so you won’t make any math errors. Click the Instructions for this form button to review IRS instructions for any form. You can save your work and log back in later to complete your return, if necessary.

When you have completed your return, move on to step 2, E-File Your Tax Forms. Enter W-2, 1099, and W-2G information for any of those forms you received. Add your adjusted gross income from 2008, fill in last year’s PIN if you have one, select a new PIN for 2009, enter your date of birth and e-filing date, and choose whether (and when) to pay tax due by electronic withdrawal. Finally, click E-File Now, and you are done. You will receive your refund, if any, by check, or by direct deposit, if you entered direct deposit information on your return. If you owe tax and choose not to pay your tax due electronically, you will need to print Form 1040-V and mail it with your tax due.

Posted 1/21/10 11:15am ET in Tax Tips | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fundranker Upturns January 2010 Update

Fundranker’s Top Eight Model Portfolio added another multi-month gain in November and December, 2009. The table below shows Fundranker’s multi-month gains and compares them to returns of the Nasdaq Composite (as measured by Fidelity’s Nasdaq Composite Index Fund) and the S&P 500 (as measured by Fidelity’s Spartan 500 Index Fund) over the same time periods. Since we didn’t start tracking the Nasdaq Composite until October, 2003, its returns are shown starting in 2004:

Fundranker’s current two-month upturn culminated a nine-out-of-10-month upward run from March 9 lows for 2009. Fundranker is up again through January 14, so perhaps it will extend its rally run still another month.

Over all the upturns, Fundranker now has an average gain of 21.646%; the S&P 500 gained only 11.806% on average. Over the 12 upturns during which we tracked the Nasdaq Composite, Fundranker now has an average gain of 16.516%; the Nasdaq Composite gained only 13.446% on average. See our Fundranker Upturns October Update post for earlier information.

Although past results are never an assurance of future performance, it’s still great to know that Fundranker regularly outperforms the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 indexes.

Posted 1/14/10 3:23pm ET in Fundranker, Market | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rally Report

What a difference 10 months makes. When the market hit Great Recession lows on March 9, 2009, things couldn’t have looked much bleaker. Even as the market began to recover some of the immense losses of 2008 and early 2009, financial pundits kept calling for it to retest its lows, which still has not happened.

Indeed, the American Association of Individual Investors reported this week that 38% of surveyed members were bullish on the stock market in the short term, up from 19% in early March, but lower than the 51% reported last August, and significantly lower than the 58% level reached in the latter stages of the bull market in 2007. Considering these readings as a contrarian indicator suggests the market rally has room to run in 2010, as the bulls have not yet started to stampede.

As of December 31, 2009, the Nasdaq Composite Index (as measured by Fidelity’s Nasdaq Composite Index Fund), the S&P 500 Index (as measured by Fidelity’s Spartan 500 Index - Investor Class Fund), and the Top Eight Model Portfolio were up 79.8%, 67.8%, and 58.6%, respectively, from their March 9, 2009, lows.

Posted 1/2/10 12:54pm ET in Fundranker, Market | Permalink | Comments (0)