LOS ANGELES, CA (January 2, 2009) -- CPAide, the largest tax and accounting portal on the web, announced that January 5 - 9, 2009 will be National Tax Help Week. [UPDATE: Due to overwhelming response, this event has been extended through April 15, 2009.] "We're trying to address some of the shortcomings of previous 'tax advice' days hosted by storefront tax prep and refund anticipation loan shops," explains Ronald Bodtcher, President of CPAide. "Advice is talk, and they say that talk is cheap, so we are offering actual tax help: practical tools and resources that involve action rather than just talk."

CPAide and several of its affiliated tax sites, including State Tax Central, will be hosting a week-long series of free events to help taxpayers file their federal and state income tax returns for the 2008 tax year. The federal filing deadline this year is April 15, 2009. Most state deadlines are also April 15, but may vary from state to state. Several states have no state income tax on individuals and/or businesses. "State filing requirements can be especially confusing," Bodtcher adds, "which is why we are spending an entire week focusing on federal and state tax help."

To kick off National Tax Help Week on January 5, a number of tax web sites will be open to help the public prepare for filing federal and state taxes. These sites include CPAide, State Tax Central, IRS Tax Map and Federal Tax Central. They feature tax help, forms, FAQs and more. While registration is optional, visitors who choose to register with CPAide or IRS Tax Map will receive a free, downloadable, full-color, 36-page tax calendar for 2009 packed with useful information on general business taxes for small businesses and the self-employed. The calendar is available in English or Spanish.

January 6 will mark the opening of a new tax site, Tax Toolbars, which features toolbars for the Internet Explorer and Firefox web browsers. There is a Federal Tax Toolbar which covers IRS federal taxes, as well as state tax toolbars for each of the 50 states. Each toolbar has tax information, news updates, forms, FAQs and tools to aid in the preparation of all types of taxes. Visitors who download and install the Federal Tax Toolbar will receive the 2009 tax calendar directly from their toolbar.

A number of new CPAide Tax Widgets will be released on January 7. They are hosted by Widgetbox.com and users can install them with a couple of quick clicks for use on web sites, iGoogle, MySpace, Blogs and a number of other web pages. It's an easy way to integrate useful tools and live content into a web site without having to know how to program. These widgets will enhance users' tax preparation experience by making forms, FAQs and other help available on demand.

On January 8, CPAWho will introduce "Ask a CPAide", a free online service that lets users quickly locate and email their tax questions to local CPAs and other tax professionals. Visitors simply enter their zip code and click on the search button. Search results are listed according to zip code proximity and include specializations and qualifications, contact information, maps, free email Q&A and more. More than 1,600 CPAs, accountants and other tax professionals from across the country are included in the listings and will be available to answer taxpayer questions. Unlike some tax prep and refund anticipation loan shops, the CPAWho listings include only full-time professionals and specifically exclude seasonal tax preparers and non-professionals who fill out tax returns on a part-time or moonlighting basis.

Start your 2008 tax return with FREE IRS e-file. A free efile center will open on January 9 and allow visitors to prepare, print and efile federal returns for free. State returns involve a nominal fee. "This is the most user-friendly, lowest total cost preparation service I have found," says Ronald Bodtcher. "For hundreds less than the cost of purchasing form filling services at one the the storefront tax prep shops, you can easily complete and efile your returns in the comfort of your own home. Just use CPAide's tax web sites, toolbars and Ask a CPAide service to help you with any problem areas." Access to the efile center will be available through the web sites, toolbars and widgets mentioned above.

All of the web sites, toolbars, widgets, "Ask a CPAide" service and free returns will be available throughout the current income tax filing season, which runs until April 15, 2009.

About State Tax Central

State Tax Central is the web's largest and most comprehensive web site devoted exclusively to state and local taxes. Founded in 1998 by Ronald Bodtcher, State Tax Central has tax help, forms and FAQs for all 50 states, including information for each county in the U.S. State Tax Central is headquartered in Southern California. For more information, visit http://www.StateTaxCentral.com/.

About CPAide

CPAide's innovative tax & accounting portals, toolbars and widgets connect millions of people around the world with links, RSS news feeds and gadgets for federal and state taxes. Founded in 1999, CPAide is a leader in tax & accounting website, toolbar and widget development with more than 50 different toolbars and widgets for federal and state taxes. CPAide is headquartered in Southern California. For more information, visit http://www.CPAide.com/.