“We are really excited to build upon our success from last season,” said Jason Smerican, senior product manager.  “We have the benefit of going through the full tax season this year and can’t wait for even more customers to experience the convenience of doing their taxes from their iPad.”

With the first apps in the market, to allow people to prepare and file their tax returns all from their mobile devices, TurboTax apps make it easier than ever for taxpayers, anytime, anywhere.  You can estimate your tax refund, prepare and e-file your tax return, and track the status of your tax return after you file, all from your mobile devices.  Unlike other tax apps, TurboTax apps are specifically designed and optimized specifically for an app user experience.

The new suite of apps includes:     

• SnapTax: Designed for taxpayers with simple tax returns (1040EZ), SnapTax lets you snap a photo of your W-2 with the camera in your phone and then, automatically transfers information right onto your tax return. You then answer a few simple questions, review your tax return and tap “File My Taxes” to e-file in minutes.  Available for iPhone or Android devices.

•  TurboTax for iPad:  Improved for tax year 2011, TurboTax for iPad, now includes the ability to easily transfer information from your prior year tax return and automatically import income information directly from 400,000 employers, banks and financial institutions. Free one-on-one tax advice from highly-qualified tax experts is now available if you use TurboTax for iPad and SnapTax as well.  This year there will also be new apps for android tablets, including Kindle Fire.

• TaxCaster: Now available for iPad as well as iPhone and Android devices, TaxCaster is a free and easy way to estimate your tax refund.  With this interactive and engaging app, you can quickly and easily enter information using visual icons and sliders to see where you stand before you file. 

• MyTaxRefund: After e-filing, you can check the status of both your federal and state tax returns with this free and easy mobile app available now for iPad, as well as iPhone, Android devices.  MyTaxRefund also tells you when to expect to receive your federal tax refund based on IRS projections.

• TurboTax Card Mobile- Free to TurboTax customers who choose to receive their tax refund on a TurboTax Prepaid Visa® Card, the TurboTax Card Mobile app is available for both iPhone and Android devices.  The app allows you to track your federal tax refund, activate your card, check your balance and transactions, locate ATMs and more!

 TurboTax Online products are also accessible to mobile users.

All TurboTax online products, including Free Edition, are now compatible when accessing through a browser on the iPhone, Android, Kindle Fire, iPad and other tablets. With an improved mobile experience, if you are using a browser, you can move between your mobile device and your computer giving you more freedom and choice to prepare your taxes whenever and wherever you want.

TurboTax Goes Mobile

To check out new videos of the tax apps, click here to see TurboTax for iPad and SnapTax in action.

Pricing and Availability

All apps from TurboTax are free to download.  TurboTax for iPad and SnapTax customers pay when they are done.  All pricing for TurboTax mobile apps is available on the App Store, Android Market, or Amazon App Store for Android.

What could be better?  The ability to accurately and easily estimate, prepare, and e-file your taxes or track your tax refund all while being mobile.  So what device do you use to file your taxes?

Check out SnapTax and TurboTax for iPad on YouTube here:

TaxCaster – Want to know how big your tax refund is going to be? TaxCaster is a free tax calculator app that will give you a quick tax estimate. Just enter basic information about you, your income and tax deductions to get a good idea if you will owe money or – hopefully – get a nice big tax refund. (iPhone, Android, WP7, WordPress plugin)

SnapTax – Prepare and file your taxes on your phone. Available nationwide and designed for taxpayers with simple tax returns (1040EZ), SnapTax allows you to snap a photo of your W-2, answer a few simple questions, review your return and e-file your federal and state tax return directly from your phone.  Download and try for free, pay $14.99 when you prepare and are ready to file. (iPhone, Android)

MyTaxRefund – Wondering “Where’s my refund?” MyTaxRefund, a free and easy app, is available to any taxpayer that has e-filed their federal tax return.  MyTaxRefund shows you the IRS projected status of your e-filed, federal tax return, tells you if your tax return has been accepted by the IRS and when the IRS estimates you’ll get your federal tax refund. (iPhone, iPad)

Apps can bring a little bit of fun and definitely convenience to your daily routine, so why not use them to help with your taxes too.

This year, SnapTax is available for all states AND for both iPhone and Android mobile phones.  SnapTax is all about making it simple to file your taxes.  Just shoot, snap, file and you’re done.  So easy, it’s like magic! Here’s a snappy video to help illustrate.

SnapTax uses optical character recognition (OCR) technology to snap a photo of a W-2 and transfer data to the tax return. Very cool! Answer some basic questions, check the return for accuracy and tap “File Now” when your ready to electronically file your return. There’s a running tally of the refund, or taxes owed, every step of the way. Your tax information is literally at your fingertips.

You can download SnapTax for free in the Apple App Store and Android Market and pay an introductory price of $14.99 when you are ready to e-file your return. The price includes federal and state preparation and e-filing.

Last year, SnapTax was limited to CA residents with an iPhone only and quickly achieved a 4 star rating in the Apple App Store. Feedback from customers was great. Avery Ryder, a 21-year-old college student and the first person to file a return using the app shared his reaction. “It captured all of my information perfectly and the import worked great … surprisingly great because I didn’t have to re-enter anything”, Ryder said.

This year, SnapTax is available to millions of taxpayers in all states. Designed for those with a simple return (1040EZ), SnapTax will quickly and easily walk them through the process. Sounds like something you may want to check out for yourself? There are some qualifications to help you decide is will work for you. Check out the Apple App Store or Andoid Market or go to www.SnapTax.com. So what are you waiting for…Snap to it!

Imagine sitting on the train in your daily commute, grabbing a Saturday afternoon coffee, or killing time at the airport and being able to start and finish your taxes in just minutes.  Sounds like a cool concept, but now doing your taxes on the go is a reality with SnapTax, a new iPhone app coming your way in January. Update: Find out more about the TurboTax SnapTax iPhone app on Intuit Labs now that it’s live.

Available exclusively for California residents this year, SnapTax uses optical character recognition (OCR) software to allow you to prepare and e-file federal and state returns entirely from your iPhone. It’s simple.  In fact, you can file your taxes in just three easy steps:

1. Snap a photo of your 2009 W-2 with your iPhone:

2. Get your maximum refund by answering a few simple questions:

3. Review your tax information, then e-file – all within a matter on minutes:

Amir Eftekhari, app guru and engineering manager for SnapTax at TurboTax, weighs in about revolutionizing the way people do taxes. “At TurboTax we are always looking for ways to make it easier and more convenient for taxpayers to get their maximum refund.  With SnapTax, we’ve made it possible for taxpayers to easily do their taxes on the go in minutes.”

SnapTax will be available in the App Store in mid-January (once the IRS opens e-file) for $9.99, which includes federal and California state preparation and e-file.   To get the most out of SnapTax’s innovative OCR capabilities, we recommend using it with the iPhone 3GS.  Also, check out what others like TechCrunch are saying about SnapTax so far.

If you live in California and have a simple return check it out, and leave us your feedback in the comments. We’ll give five random California commenters a free download.