You may be surprised that some people think it is more patriotic to pay more tax than others. Though most of us are now watching our finances very well and would appreciate a tax tool that will help us save a few bucks.

So the following are my picks for best calculators and tools to help you save money.

1. Quicken Tax Tools - Simply Google "Quicken Tax Tools" and you will find some very comprehensive tools to calculate what Uncle Sam is going to be expecting from you.
2. Google Docs - Even if you do not have any spreadsheet software on your computer you can now easily create some pretty good ones with Google Docs. Their spreadsheet has steadily improved to the point that it is quite a serious tool.
3. Google Search - You would be surprised how many professionals are using Google to begin and sometimes end their tax research. Though a word to the wise is that do not always consider that everything that is on the web has been fact checked and is current.

All the tax tools though will not help if you do not have some good information to work with. So make sure to document all your deductions during the year so that it will make tax time easier.

You may be surprised how many good choices there are for free software on the web to do your accounting. Though it will take time to download and install them it is very likely to save you money in the long run.

Lastly please remember that though we all like things that are free yet sometimes you get what you pay for. So it may very well be worthwhile to pay a CPA such as myself to prepare your taxes.