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Free File 2015 opens Jan. 16

The 2015 tax-filing season doesn't officially start until Jan. 20. That Tuesday after Dr. Martin Luther King Day is when the Internal Revenue Service will start processing tax returns.

But if you want to be at the front of that tax filing line and qualify to use Free File, then you can start doing your taxes now.

Free File opened for business on Jan. 16. Free File companies will securely hold your completed tax return until the official full filing season starts on Jan. 20.

Fourteen tax software manufacturers are participating this year. They are FreeTaxUSA, Jackson Hewitt, 1040.com, OLT.com, TurboTax, Free1040TaxReturn, TaxSlayer, Tax Simple, Liberty Tax Service, FileYourTaxes.com, TaxACT, H&R Block, ezTaxReturn and 1040NOW.

Most follow the key Free File eligibility requirement that last year's adjusted gross income be $60,000 or less. That income threshold applies to all filing statuses.

Some of the companies, however, have other conditions. Their income levels are lower or they are open only to filers in certain states or they can be used only by taxpayers of certain ages.

Check the offerings carefully before making your choice. The IRS also has on online tool to help you decide. Use it. You don't want to be surprised like some users of certain commercial TurboTax packages were earlier this year.

And while Free File opens a few days before the full official start of the 2015 tax-filing season, most of the services also will let you file for an extension if you just can't complete your tax forms by April 15.

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Free File 2015 opens Jan. 16