TaxACT Offers Taxpayers Affordable Full-Service Audit Protection

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA--(Marketwire - Feb 4, 2013) - Being audited is one of the biggest fears Americans have at tax time. Even if you've done nothing wrong, your tax return could be chosen at random for an audit. In order to give taxpayers an extra boost of confidence in preparing their own taxes, the makers of TaxACT^®, a leading tax preparation provider, now offers a full-service audit protection solution.

TaxACT has partnered with Tax Audit Defense™, a tax audit negotiation and mediation company, to offer taxpayers expert representation in IRS and state income tax return audits for one low, pre-paid fee.

"The chance of being audited is very small, but if you do happen to get audited, the process can be expensive, time-consuming and stressful," said TaxACT President JoAnn Kintzel. "Fortunately, TaxACT's full tax audit protection service is available to customers who want extra peace of mind at a fraction of what the service would cost if done without it."

For a low upfront fee, Tax Audit Defense CPAs, IRS enrolled agents and tax attorneys guide members through an audit from start to finish, no matter how long the process. From the time members are contacted by letter, notice or phone call, experts handle all communication with the IRS or state agency. Generally, Tax Audit Defense customers never have to talk to auditors or meet with the agencies. If the audit results in money owed, Tax Audit Defense representatives negotiate to minimize financial impact on customers.

Audit protection is provided for as long as members' federal, state and amended returns can be audited, which in most cases, is three years from filing a federal return and four years from filing a state return.

TaxACT customers can purchase a Tax Audit Defense membership before filing their tax returns for a one-time fee of $39.95 per tax year, with the option to pay for the fee from their refund. Membership includes a 30-day money-back guarantee.

"All TaxACT products already include free, step-by-step audit guidance, one-on-one help and accuracy guarantees, helping to reduce the odds that our customers will get audited," continued Kintzel. "Our new audit protection service through Tax Audit Defense enhances these offerings and aligns well with our complete and affordable portfolio of tax preparation solutions."

To learn more about Tax Audit Defense, visit app.taxauditdefense.com/taxact.

About Tax Audit Defense
Tax Audit Defense is a full-service tax audit representation company serving individual taxpayers, corporations, associations and small businesses before the Examination Division of the IRS and state income tax authorities.

About TaxACT

TaxACT, made by 2nd Story Software^®, is the critically acclaimed leader of affordable digital and download tax preparation solutions for consumers, business owners and tax professionals. In the 2005 tax season, TaxACT became the first to offer free federal tax software and e-file to all U.S. taxpayers. TaxACT has been the second-most visited online tax preparation destination for the past seven consecutive years^*. Since 2000, TaxACT Online has assisted with more than 38 million e-filed federal returns. TaxACT is a business of Blucora™ (NASDAQ: BCOR). Learn more about TaxACT at www.taxact.com and www.taxact.com/press.

^*According to collective week end reports for taxact.com and taxactonline.com released by Hitwise™ during the 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 tax seasons.