How to File Your Taxes Online For Beginners (TurboTax Tutorial) 🧾 - YouTube

Hey y’all, Jenn here from finder.com.

Today, we're talking about one of the only sure  things in life: taxes. As April 15th nears and  

W-2s start rolling in, it's time to file your  federal — and in some cases, your state — taxes.

We'll be showing you how to file your  taxes online with Intuit TurboTax — it’s  

friendly to first-time filers,  and can be fairly inexpensive.

Let's get into it.

Before you hop onto the TurboTax website,  first you need to

collect a few documents that you'll need once  you get started. Typically this includes:

Your Social Security number and the  numbers of anyone else on your return 

A government-issued ID, like a driver's license Your W-2 or 1099 

Any earned interest on private investment accounts Your form 1095 and any medical bills 

Mortgage interest and property taxes Education expenses 

Small business expenses Retirement contributions 

Charitable donation receipts

Before you can start your return, you need to  make an account. Simply fill out the form with  

your email address and choose a user ID and  password — make sure it's a strong one, too,  

since you'll be inputting a lot of personal and sensitive information.

Next, add your name, date of  birth and ZIP code to start.  

You'll then add information about your filing  status — including whether you’re married.

From there, select any of the situations  that apply to you from the past  

year. It then asks for more details  about your previous year's finances,  

like whether you took on medical debt,  traded crypto currency or received dividends.

Continue on by entering even  more personal information,  

such as your Social Security number and  what states you lived and worked in.

Next up is diving into the nitty  gritty of your federal taxes.  

TurboTax takes you through the  process one step at a time,  

and lets you save your place and come back at  anytime — perfect for if you need a quick break.

Your W-2, 1099, 1095 and charitable donation  receipts come into play in this section. Some  

Some documents can be uploaded and auto-filled,  or you can type in the information yourself.

Once you go through each section,  TurboTax will prompt you to fill  

in anything that you may have missed  and review your progress as you go.

If any of the states you lived in the previous  year have state taxes that need to be covered,  

you'll head to the next step.  Otherwise you can skip to step six.

State taxes are a lot less  intense than federal. In fact,  

the software will import the information from  your federal taxes and process the state taxes  

with very little additional input from  you. A few clicks and you're all set.

Alright, you're almost ready to file at this point. It's  time to select what refund method you want to use.

Depending on when you file, you may even  be able to apply for an advance on your return.

Your choices are the following: Direct deposit into your bank account,  

this usually is the fastest. Receiving a prepaid TurboTax debit card, 

receiving a paper check in the mail, applying the refund to next year's taxes,

or buying US savings bonds

Once you select your preferred delivery method  and filled out any necessary info to accompany  

it — like bank account information or your direct deposit info— it's time to file.

Well, it's time to review everything, then file.  

You can take one last look at all of the  sections and make sure nothing looks off  

or is missing. E-sign the document once everything  looks up to snuff and you're on your way.

It will likely take a while for the IRS to accept  the submission, anywhere from a few days to a few  

weeks. And it can be even longer to process it  fully. To get written instructions on how to file  

online and a breakdown of the pros and cons of  each filing method, read our guide linked below on Finder.com.

To get even more help navigating the  world of personal finance in video form,  

go ahead and hit that subscribe. Plus you can  give this video a like while you're there.

More questions about filing your taxes online?  Leave a comment and we’ll get back to you!