Baslinux mailing list

[baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org]

Online electronic tax filing required java a few years ago.
I read that it has mostly been replaced by flash and javascript
except at a few game sites.  Nice to be rid of it.

(Nevertheless. OS 10.4 on our 400Mhz iMac insisted on downloading Java 
updates 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, each 81MB).

Now direct filling out of government forms online requires Micro$oft 
Silverlight (available for linux GTK2 - involves audio and moving pictures 
- for tax forms????).  This seems to be the MS challenger to Flash and is 
also required to view many streaming TV stations.  Others use Realaudio or 
Windows Media Player and hopefully Mplayer will handle them.  (Not on my 
266MHz Thinkpad).  The Linux version is Moonlight and it comes precompiled 
for various recent linuxes, or you can try to compile your own but I doubt 
GTK1 and glibc 2.3.6 would work.  Puppy Linux probably supports it but my 
preference is to avoid it.  Only 7.7MB source code but you also need a 
Microsoft Media Pack for it.  4MB Firefox plugin (probably GTK2).

With Silverlight or Moonlight, you can use the online services of some tax 
filing company, which are free if you earn under $57,000 or in some cases 
under $32,000.  Most of them are restricted to certain states (up to 44 of 
them) and certain age groups (over 25, under 51, under 70, etc.).  Even if 
your state is listed, it may not really be available for data entry.

I tried eFileReturns (MI was both listed and allowed, but most states were 
not actually open for data entry), and Opera 9.64 got stuck on one item 
(would not let me enter something, javascript error).

iSecureTax allows any age, 44 states, and seems to work with Opera 9.64. 
Since they are still doing 2009 taxes and I finished mine long ago I only 
signed up and went as far as the interest income page.

This takes longer to fill in the info than doing it on paper (you have to 
keep clicking on Continue and I would not try it without broadband and a 
fast enough computer to handle the javascript) but should save calculation 
time and prevent arithmetic errors and produce something more legible, 
that you can print in multiple copies.

It may not work if you are self-employed (Schedule C) or use other less 
common forms.  I did not go far enough to see if Schedules A or B were 
included.  They mentioned 1040 and 1040EZ.

There are around 20 companies listed but most are age limited.



Sindi Keesan