Printing Copies of Required Forms: $2.00, Not Having to Fill Out Multiple Forms on My Computer: Priceless

After this weekend, I’ve decided that filling out forms and schedules line by line on my computer is extremely unpleasant. I forgot to get 1040s and other schedules printed this weekend and instead tried to do my learning activities entirely on the computer, which would probably be pretty convenient if I had more than one monitor. Trying to juggle 3-4 forms on a single screen was difficult and time consuming.  Going forward, I will definitely make sure that I have everything printed because completing these forms is a lot easier for me when they are sitting right in front of me. With tax software, I don’t imagine it would be as cumbersome, especially on simple returns, since the actual forms would be handled in the background. While the actual forms provided by www.irs.gov are in PDF format and are designed to be filled out on the computer, many of the supporting schedules, especially the ones in instructions, are not usually in such a convenient package. Without having those schedules printed, you pretty much have to scribble alongside the example problems in the Comprehensive Course, or make a little spreadsheet and try to keep track of where you are in the related schedule. Neither option is great, so definitely be sure to print all of the forms provided in the Comprehensive Course before you sit down to do the learning activities.  It will save your time and your sanity.