Intuit just released what may be the easiest way possible to do your taxes &8212' an iPhone and Android application called SnapTax.
With SnapTax, you dona4‚¬a4„t have to fill out a bunch of complicated forms. Instead, you just use your smartphone camera to scan your W-2 form from your employer, answer a few more questions, then file your taxes from your phone. You dona4‚¬a4„t have to pay for any expensive software, either. Instead, the app is free to download, then if everything works out properly, you pay $14.99 when youa4‚¬a4„re actually file your taxes.
You can watch Intuit&'s demo video below, though it doesna4‚¬a4„t show real footage of the app in-action. Intuit demonstrated an earlier version for me a few months ago, and I an attest that the scanning part, at least, works as smoothly as promised.
Now, as you can probably guess from the description, the app is meant for people whose tax situation is pretty simple.Specifically, Intuit says ita4‚¬a4„s for people who make $80,000 or less a year' only have income from W-2s, interest, and unemployment' and dona4‚¬a4„t owe any property. I suspect that excludes a lot of VentureBeat readers. But, like the companya4‚¬a4„s acquisition of Mint, this seems like a way for the finance software giant to try to reach a young, tech-savvy audience.
Intuit also released the SnapTax application last year, but it was only on iPhones, and only worked for California residents. This year ita4‚¬a4„s available on Android too, and can be used to file taxes anywhere in the United States.
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Companies: Intuit
Companies: Intuit
Anthony is a senior editor at VentureBeat, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining the site in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. (All story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com) You can also follow Anthony on Twitter.
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