e-file the HowardSoft way...

e-file available: e-file transmission software is available for all Standard Level and Premium Level CD-ROMs for Tax Preparer (1040) and California Supplement (540). Even with our lowest-priced transmission software you can e-file an unlimited number of returns for a very low per-return transmission fee. (With our highest-priced transmission software there is NO per return fee!)

How to Get Started Before you can e-file returns with our software, there are two important tasks you must complete: Apply to the IRS. You must be approved by the IRS for participation in the IRS e-file program. Approval is easy and you do not have to be a tax professional to get it, but in order to use our e-file software you must have an Electronic Filing Identification Number (EFIN), which you get from the IRS by filing Form 8633. You can download Form 8633 by clicking here. (You do not have to reapply each year as long as your EFIN is in good standing with the IRS. Furthermore, once you are accepted into the IRS's e-file program, you are automatically enrolled in California's e-file program.) Register with HowardSoft. Registration is required for each new filing season, and helps you give us the information required to activate your transmission software. Click here for details on this and the bank products we offer, including Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs).

Why use it? Electronic filing (now called "e-file" by the IRS) has been around for years, but you can expect more clients to request it every year because of the massive publicity campaign that the IRS has mounted. The traditional benefit to the client is a faster refund, often by weeks, including direct deposit in the client’s bank account. But the client can also use e-file to "file now...pay later" for a balance-due return, delaying payment until April 15th or paying automatically (electronically) on any specified date before that. The client also has the comfort of confirmation from the IRS of receipt of the return and validation of simple arithmetic on the return.

How it works. e-file is fully integrated into Tax Preparer so that you can generate files for electronic filing as easily as printing a return. Then, when you're ready to transmit your returns to the IRS, you merely start the included transmission software and the returns are transmitted securely through the internet for a low per-return fee.

Options. The e-file transmission software is available at three levels:

• Silver ($45). Our lowest-priced option lets you transmit an unlimited number of returns for $5.95 per Form 1040 return.
• Gold ($295). Our mid-priced option lets you transmit an unlimited number of returns for just $2.00 per Form 1040 return.
• Platinum ($595). Our highest-priced option lets you transmit an unlimited number of returns with NO per-return fee.

Similar options are available for California state e-file (for Form 540 returns). Note that the above prices are regular prices for the 2010 filing season, and do not reflect any early-bird discounts that may apply. For the latest pricing information, see our current Order Form.