The tax season is in full swing, and IRS has already begun accepting returns and issuing refunds to millions of Americans. More than 150 million Americans file individual tax returns annually with the IRS. A vast majority of them e-file the taxes instead of submitting physical papers. Over the years, IRS has been striving to make the process easier and has introduced a whole pool of tools that help taxpayers navigate the sometimes-overwhelming tax season. Here’s a quick overview of what tools are offered by the revenue agency.

IRS online account, FAQ, and Interactive Tax Assistant

Creating an individual IRS online account is a good idea for people who wish to check out balances, payments, and tax records from previous years. The account also has a dedicated FAQ section and an Interactive Tax assistant that can help you answer essential questions, such as whether you should be filing taxes at all. Surprisingly many people are excluded because of age, filing status, and other factors such as total income.

Free File

Once you are ready to file taxes, you can hire a tax consultant to help you get things right or use the Free File tool the IRS offers. It has some restrictions, but it is a great tool that guides you through the filing process and does not charge you any money for doing so. IRS volunteers may not be reliable, and tax consultants can be expensive to hire, so taking advantage of this tool can be very beneficial.

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Tax Credit Assistance

Earned Income Tax Credit Assistant (EITC) is arguably one of the most useful tools offered by the IRS. It helps taxpayers determine eligibility for these valuable credits and allows tax-fillers to choose how much credit they could claim. As a result, it is a great tool to look at if you are looking for a way to maximize your tax return.

The ‘Where’s My Refund?’ tool and the IRS2Go app

IRS has developed a ‘Where’s My Refund?’ tool that helps track a refund after filing taxes. The same tool is also available as an app called IRS2Go that users can easily download from the App Store or Google’s Play store. All needed to see the status of a refund is the ability to answer just a few easy questions, such as your SSN, the amount of money expected back, and filing status.

IRS Services Guide and Customer Support

If you are struggling with the process, calm down. The IRS website also has listed phones and service guide that could be very helpful. In addition, IRS recently hired 5,000 operators to help the agency provide better customer support for the 2023 tax filing season, so waiting times would not take the usual few hours as it has been over the years. Slashing the waiting times this year is helping people get questions answered more quickly.

IRS offers fantastic online tools to file taxes, track progress, and process refunds securely, accurately, and faster. However, adding another layer of security while using the tools is a must. Bad actors often spoof those tools to trick potential victims into giving up personal information. Properly installed high-quality anti-virus software protects you from phishing emails and spoofed untrusty websites. When it comes to personal attacks, hackers tend to dislike hard-to-hit targets – being well prepared is, most of the time, all needed to deter even the most vicious hackers.