If you don't qualify for IRS' Free File, you can still file for free

— -- Most of us don't have enough stamina to do anything for 26 hours, even if we're enjoying ourselves.

Yet that's the amount of time the average taxpayer spends on federal Form 1040, according to the IRS taxpayer advocate.

Twenty-six hours and 40 minutes to be exact, and that doesn't include state tax returns.

You can, of course, pay someone to do your taxes, but these days, many taxpayers are looking for ways to cut costs.

So here's an alternative: Prepare and file your own taxes, using tax preparation software. While you can spend more than $80 on a software package, there are a variety of ways to prepare and file your taxes electronically for free.

That's a welcome development, because the only thing that annoys Americans more than paying their taxes is paying to file their taxes.

This year's no-cost options include:

•IRS Free File. This partnership between the IRS and private tax preparation companies is designed to encourage more taxpayers to e-file their tax returns. This year, the program is open to all taxpayers with adjusted gross income of $56,000 or less on their 2008 tax returns. The income threshold applies to married and single taxpayers.

To use Free File, go to www.irs.gov.

Each of the Free File programs has its own eligibility requirements. Some are only available to residents of certain states, for example, or are limited to taxpayers who are 50 or younger. Some have a lower income limit than the $56,000 threshold. All of the programs offer free tax preparation and e-filing for one federal tax return.

Some Free File programs include free state tax preparation, but others charge a fee for your state return, says David Williams, electronic tax administration director for the IRS. "We understand the frustration of taxpayers who think they can do both," he says.

State tax officials are frustrated, too. Like the IRS, they're trying to encourage taxpayers to file their tax returns electronically.

"We've been trying to get people to learn they need to find an offer that also includes a free state (return) in their state, because the offers are all different," says Veranda Smith, government affairs associate for the Federation of Tax Administrators, an association for state tax authorities.