OK, this was cool, if confusing. My Dad does our taxes every year, and as usual, the idiots that employ my wife wait until Jan 31 to send out the W2s... which means when you send in your returns, you'll already have a ton of people in front of you in the "queue" - i.e. 6-12 weeks waiting for the return. Now there is a better way...

The IRS now has a link to the "free file" site, where you sign up, then proceed to fill out your 1040, schedules, W2s... etc... and you can then submit them directly to the IRS. I'm told that you can expect your refund in 10 days using the eFile.

One key thing: check over all of your information and feel free to hit the "Do the math" button as much as you want. Have last year's tax form handy because you'll need it as identifying information, and here's a tip: for the "Spouse" AGI, if you filed jointly last year, it's the exact same as the Taxpayer amount. I had to hunt that tidbit down, because it wasn't clear on the form.

At any rate... it was pretty easy, and mostly painless. I'll find out in the next day or so if it was accepted or rejected by the IRS.