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I have a confession to make.  I was ready to file my final tax return and decided to run it through another program. I did something I’ve never tried before and I REALLY urge you to do your taxes twice too!

Yes, it took me a few extra hours, but I found out that we actually had over $3000 in a tax refund that our first run through had missed! By taking the time to do our taxes twice, I made $1000 an hour. NOTE – I did not FILE twice, I just ran all of our info and numbers into two DIFFERENT online filing options.

You know the old saying measure twice, cut once?  Well, PLEASE do that with your tax return.  

According to the IRS, 80% of tax payers now file online.  Next year, I might even set aside an entire weekend to run it through 3-4 programs before I decide on which one to file.  Most people hit “FILE NOW” and take what they get and that’s it. Take the time before to double and triple check your numbers.  I was proud of ourselves that we initially only had $67 coming to us, thinking that I had done all I could to claim exemptions where needed.  Apparently, I WAS WRONG.  VERY WRONG. THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS A MONTH WRONG!

Why you need to do your TAXES TWICE!

Do you want to know the craziest thing about this situation?  I filed the simple, 1040 EZ file the second time because all of that itemizing did us no good, in fact, that is what screwed me up in the first place.  I entered two items incorrectly, but by one decimal point off.  Plus, the second time I filed, I chose a software program that was less money too!  Thank GOD I caught this, I never would have known that we overpaid by $3000 and now I can change our exemptions to get even more back every paycheck.  Part of me is relieved and thrilled to be getting the refund, but I’m even more thrilled to realize that we will be getting a raise (at least it will seem like that to us) once I adjust our exemptions again!

Check out my post about getting the most money back on your tax return for more tips on maximizing your refund!

At the end of this post, I have listed various tax filing options you can use. *Some of these are affiliate links and none of them should charge you up front.  You will have to enter your info separately each time to each program, but that should not take you more than a few hours at most per program.  The intentional act of re-entering each piece of information, each line item, was the game changer in our case. 

ARE A FEW EXTRA HOURS OF YOUR TIME WORTH THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS?  



E-file.com *This is the program I ended up filing with that caught my mistake!*


Do Your Taxes The EASY Way—For FREE. Use TurboTax Federal Free Edition today. Start Now.*

Register now FREE! Free IRS eFile for Everyone! TaxACT Makes it Easy, Fast & Free.

Want to track your refund status on your phone?  Tech Times has an article on features of the IRS2Go App, now available for ios and android phones.