What stumped my girlfriend about the whole process was "which version of the forms do I get?" The IRS site has 5 versions: Two varieties of PostScript format, PCL format, SGML format, and PDF. PostScript files are intended for PostScript printer. PCL files can be printed by most any HP DeskJet or LaserJet-type printer. SGML (Standardize General Markup Language) is basically an international document standard on which HTML is based. The last, PDF, is the "portable document format" by Adobe, which is a format for producing documents that can be read on a wide variety of computers.
Given that I have a DeskJet 320, I figured the best thing to do was download the PCL files fromt the IRS sites. Turned out that, aside from the difficulty I experienced in just figuring out how to get the PCL files to the printer, once they got there, they took an inordinate amount of time to download and print. Also, I found out that the California Franchise Tax Board website only had the state tax forms available in PDF format. So I had to buckle down and download the Adobe Acrobat viewer, which includes a Plug-in for Netscape 3.0 that allows me to view the tax forms right in my web browser. Turned out the PDF files were not only smaller, but printed a hell of a lot faster.
Another interesting thing I found on the Yahoo search was a JavaScript version of the 1040EZ form, which calculates the numbers for you as you enter them into the form. It's interesting, though not very useful now as the personal exemption is now $6550 instead of $6400. If I go this version of the form, my taxes go up by approximately $130 bucks -- $130 more that I have to pay Uncle Sam.
It's great the tax information is available online, but I'll be much happier when I can get on the IRS web site, do my taxes on their web site, and submit the information directly to the IRS for an immediate refund or debit. I'd even be happier if I didn't have to pay taxes, but that's a discussion for The McLaughlin Group or CrossFire, not this forum. ;-)