Many additional FAQ 's are available after you start your return.

Answer:
Alpha Tax Services, Inc. is an Authorized e-file provider. If you have chosen Alpha Tax to process your tax return, Alpha Tax can e-file your federal and state income tax returns (where available). For more information about e-file, click on the e-file navigation bar in the upper left of the screen. Also, see Frequently Asked Questions about Direct Debit or electronic payment options.

e-file Benefits:

• Accuracy! Your chance of getting an error notice from the IRS is significantly reduced.
• Security! Your privacy and security are assured.
• Electronic Signatures! Create your own Personal Identification Number (PIN) and file a completely paperless return through your tax preparation software or tax professional. There is nothing to mail!
• Proof of Acceptance! You receive an electronic acknowledgment within 48 hours that the IRS has accepted your return for processing.
• Fast Refunds! You get your refund in half the time, even faster and safer with Direct Deposit - in as few as 10 days.
• Electronic Payment Options! Convenient, safe, and secure electronic payment options are available. e-file and pay in a single step. Schedule an electronic funds withdrawal from your bank account or pay by credit card.
• Federal/State e-file! Prepare and file your Federal and state returns (where applicable) together and double the benefits you get from e-file.

Answer:
The Self-Prepared Return is not reviewed or signed. It would be the same as if you prepared your own return or printed it from store bought software. With one big difference! The "smart" interviewer software that you filled out is thorough and made sure you didn't miss a deduction!

The CPA-Prepared Return is inspected by a professional staff and signed by a practicing CPA. Your return is looked at and given a "sensibility" test. This means we will look for any item that doesn't quite make sense and alert you that there may be a possible input error. After the return has been inspected, a practicing Certified Public Accountant will look at and sign your return. Unlimited phone support is also included for the CPA-prepared returns. It's just like if you have your returned prepared by your local CPA. With one big difference! The Price!

Answer:
AlphaTaxServices.com is designed with all the safety features possible. We have a secure site. We have a secure server and the process of filing your tax returns is safe. Here's how... The protection of your tax return and credit card information is very important to us. Your personal tax and credit card information is safe because, our secure server is running SSL which is short for Secure Sockets Layer, a protocol developed by Netscape for transmitting private documents via the Internet. Both Mozilla and Internet Explorer support SSL, and many web sites, such as on-line banking and brokerages use the protocol to obtain confidential user information, such as credit card numbers. SSL creates a secure connection between a client and a server, over which any amount of data can be sent securely. We do not store any credit card information on our servers, your credit card number is sent to Authorize.Net for secure credit card processing, and is then removed from our server. Our certificate, signed by industry recognized certificate authority Thawte ensures that you are communicating with the real AlphaTaxServices.com service.

Answer:
If you choose to self-prepare your return, you will see your refund or the amount owed as soon as you complete your organizer.

If you have chosen a CPA-prepared return, you can simply log in to AlphaTaxServices.com after we have received your complete tax information to view the amount of your refund or the amount due .

Answer:
We understand the importance of handling customer information in a professional and confidential manner. We know that privacy is an important element of our customers' confidence in us and we understand that our customers expect us to collect and retain personal financial information responsibly. The following privacy guidelines will explain how we manage customer information in order to meet these goals.

We will collect information about customers in a responsible manner: We collect information customers supply for no other purpose than the preparation of their tax return, guaranteed. At this time, we do not collect specific identifying information about visitors to this website unless they choose to provide information to us by completing an on-line application or by sending us an E-Mail. We may, however, record certain non-personal statistical data about visitors to this website, which allows us to measure usage of this website and to help us continue to improve our website. We maintain customer information responsibly: We strive to maintain information about our customers that is accurate, complete, and current. We have established procedures to respond to customer requests to correct any inaccurate or incomplete information in a timely and responsible manner. We limit employee access to customer information: We have business procedures and internal security controls that limit employee access to customer information. Only employees who need to access customer information for business reasons are given access to our customer information systems. We inform our employees about the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of customer information and take steps we deem appropriate to implement our business procedures. We have established security safeguards: We strive to maintain up-to-date security standards and procedures designed to assist us in preventing unauthorized access to customer information.

Answer:
The following is a brief description of the five tests that must be met for a person to qualify as your dependent.

Relationship Test. The person must be either your relative or have lived in your home as a family member all year. If the person is not a relative, the relationship must not violate local law

Joint Return Test. If the person is married, he or she cannot file a joint return. But the person can file a joint return if the return is filed only as a claim for refund and no tax liability would exist for either spouse if they had filed separate returns.

Citizen or Resident Test. The person must be a U.S. citizen or resident alien, or a resident of Canada or Mexico. There is an exception for certain adopted children.

Income Test. The person's gross income must be less than $3,650. But your child's gross income can be $3,650 or more if he or she was either under age 19 at the end of 2010 or under age 24 at the end of 2010 and was a student.

Support Test. You must have provided over half of the person's total support in 2010. But there are two exceptions to this test: one for children of divorced or separated parents and one for persons supported by two or more taxpayers.

Answer:
We recommend that you PRINT this page if you choose Direct Deposit.
Receive your refund in as few as 10 days! If you chose to e-file with Alpha Tax and you are expecting a refund from the IRS, you may wish to have the refund deposited to your bank account rather than waiting for a check. You may choose to have your refund deposited to your checking, savings, IRA, share draft, or money market account. Refunds cannot be deposited to your credit card account. If you do not choose the Direct Deposit option, you will receive your refund by mail within 3 weeks.

If you owe back taxes from a prior year, IRS will automatically deduct the amount owed from your refund, just as if you had filed a paper return.

Qualified accounts must be held by financial institutions within the United States and established primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. Qualifying institutions may be national banks, state banks (including the District of Columbia and political sub-divisions of the 50 states), savings and loan associations, mutual savings banks and credit unions.

Enter your account information in the Tax Notebook organizer. To choose Direct Deposit, select the "Personal" tab, answer "Yes" to the appropriate question, select "Continue", and then enter the following information in the fields displayed on your screen:

The Routing Transit Number (RTN) and Depositor Account Number (DAN) can be found at the bottom of your checks and deposit slips. The RTN is a nine-digit number, the first two digits being 01 through 12, or 21 through 32. The DAN is your account number, which may include hyphens and letters, as well as numbers. Be sure to enter the name of the financial institution and select the name of the taxpayer(s) possessing the account.

Important:A Direct Deposit election cannot be rescinded. Changes cannot be made to routing number of financial institutions or to the taxpayer's account number.

Attention married couples filing a joint return: Some financial institutions will not allow Direct Deposit for joint filers to an individual account. IRS is not responsible if the deposit is refused for this reason.

All taxpayers should verify their financial institution's Direct Deposit policy before they file.

You may check on the status of your refund by logging onto www.irs.gov and click on "Where's My Refund?".

Before checking on your refund, you should wait at least four weeks (three weeks from the time your tax return data is acknowledged as "Accepted" by IRS if you e-filed).

When you log on you will be asked to provide the following:

• Social Security Number
• Filing Status
• Refund Amoun

Answer:
We recommend that you PRINT this page if you choose electronic funds withdrawal or credit card payment.

Option A:
If you have chosen to e-file with Alpha Tax and owe tax on your 2010 tax return, you have the option to pay your tax via an electronic funds withdrawal from your bank account.

You can schedule an automatic withdrawal from your checking or savings account for a future date up to and including April 15, 2011. Note: Filing for an Extension does not extend the due date for payment of the tax you will owe. The IRS may assess penalties and interest for late payment.

Electronic funds withdrawal is only available for electronic filing for your Federal return and the following states: CA, ME, MN, NE, NY, and PA.

The Routing Transit Number (RTN) and Depositor Account Number (DAN) can be found at the bottom of your checks and deposit slips. The RTN is a nine-digit number, the first two digits being 01 through 12, or 21 through 32. The DAN is your account number, which may include hyphens and letters, as well as numbers. Be sure to enter the name of the financial institution and select the name of the taxpayer(s) possessing the account.

The tax payment will be listed on your bank statement as a "United States Treasury Tax Payment" as proof of payment.

(Attention married couples filing a joint return: some financial institutions will not allow an electronic funds withdrawal for joint filers from an individual account. IRS is not responsible if the withdrawal is refused for this reason.) All taxpayers should verify their financial institution's electronic funds withdrawal policy before they file.

Option B:
Your other option for paying the tax you owe is by authorizing a credit card payment. Your credit card payment must be made electronically. You can e-file and e-pay at the same time.

You may also pay by phone (1-888-PAY-1040 or 1-800-2PAY-TAX, toll free) or by Internet (www.officialpayments.com or www.pay1040.com). You may use your American Express(r) Card, Discover Card(r), VISA(r) Card or MasterCard(r) Card.

You will be provided a confirmation number at the end of the payment transaction and your credit card statement will provide confirmation of your electronic payment.