There are dozens of Web-based programs that help you electronically prepare, store, and file your tax return.

Tax refund anticipation loans or checks may sound like a good deal, but you’ll pay a high price if you take either offer from a tax-prep company.

Even if you expect a refund this year, you probably still dread the annual ritual of organizing your paperwork and searching for deductions. We have some ideas for making tax season more tolerable and potentially more profitable.

The deadline for filing your 2011 income tax return with the Internal Revenue Service is April 17 this year. But hackers and thieves are already hard at work, developing schemes to scam you out of valuable info—Social Security numbers, bank accounts, and other financial data—and money.

A number of Better Business Bureaus across the country are responding today to consumer complaints about Mo Money Taxes, a tax preparation company also known as MoneyCo USA. According to reports, Mo Money Taxes is not paying customers their refunds.

If you've wondered how your effective federal tax rate compares with that of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, here's how to figure it out:

Taxpayers are on the losing end of inadequate funding and bigger workloads at the Internal Revenue Service, the National Taxpayer Advocate reported today. As a result, they're suffering small indignities such as unanswered phone calls and larger insults that represent an erosion of their legal rights.

UPDATE: Amazon has come out in support of the new Internet sales-tax bill. See quote below.

The IRS says that if you live in designated disaster areas in Texas and the Northeast, you can e-file or mail your federal tax return until October 31, rather than the original extended-filing deadline of October 17. Taxpayers in the affected zip codes will not be assessed late filing and payment penalties and interest if they have a balance.

Consumers should be prepared to start seeing sales tax collected on more and more of their online purchases as cash-strapped states look for additional sources of revenue, says tax industry research group CCH, a Walter Kluwers business.

The Colorado town of Louisville topped Money Magazine's annual list of 100 Best Places to Live. The 2011 list of the best American small towns was based on job opportunities, quality of school systems, economic strength, and weather, among other criteria.

The government's ability to collect taxes from passengers on airfares expired amid the budgetary impasse last Friday. Instead of reducing fares to reflect that change, many airlines kept prices at levels they would have been at if taxes were still included in the cost of a ticket. Airlines then pocketed the difference. The Federal Aviation Administration can't collect these taxes until its budget is reinstated.

The Internal Revenue Service is looking at land-transfer records state-by-state for evidence of people neglecting to report within-family real-estate gifts.

In comments at Consumer Reports' headquarters, Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos stated that federal legislation is required to address differing state policies on the collection of sales taxes from e-commerce companies. He also said that the company will continue to drop affiliates in states that require them to collect sales taxes from their local marketing partners. "The big affiliates will pick up and move, which we're grateful for," he said.

Three quarters of Americans who file tax returns will get a check back from the government this year. And the value of those refunds is up over the previous year.