If you are not sure which Free File company you want to use, you can click on the “Guide Me To A Service” button. You should have the following information available in order for this option to guide you to the appropriate Free File companies:
Your age, and your spouse’s age if filing jointly (your age as of December 31st)
Your estimated Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) for the year
Your state of residence
The number of W-2’s you (and your spouse) received
Which form you plan on filing: 1040EZ, 1040A, or 1040
Whether you are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit
Whether you or your spouse received Military pay
Whether you expect a refund, and how much
You may not know the answers to these questions, such as your Adjusted Gross Income and the expected amount of your refund, until you actually complete your return. If your situation hasn’t changed since last year, you may be able to use last year’s tax return to estimate your AGI. If you filed as single last year and are filing jointly this year, don’t forget to add your AGI and your spouse’s AGI if you are using last year as the basis for your estimate.
In any case, AGI is calculated as follows:
Taxable income from all sources:
Wages, salaries and tips
Taxable interest
Ordinary dividends
Taxable refunds, credits, or offsets of state and local income taxes