Type in "taxes" into a search engine and you will get more than 7.5 million results. And a lot of those sites are not to be trusted with your taxes and tax info. So here are some quick tips:

* BE CAREFUL OUT THERE:
Some of the tax tips are out of date on many Web sites, so find places with current info, such as TaxCut.com and TurboTax.com.
Your taxes are too important to trust to random accountants you don't know on the Web. Be sure to get references.

* IS E-FILE FOR YOU?
More than 40 million people use e-file from IRS to electronic file their taxes. If you have a straight-forward set of circumstances and you are confident about doing it online, then this might be the year to join the others.

Some sites for you:

* 7Online's Online Tax Time 2002: This is perhaps the only site you need to use this year. It brings together forms and info for federal and state taxes in the tri-state area. And watch for new articles will continuously be added to it.

* IRS.GOV: The government's site has been revamped and improved, so be sure to check it out.

* TAXPLANET.COM: Lots of good info and practical advice here. Among its offerings, a year-round tax planning guide. This site is run by Gary Klott, former tax columnist of The New York Times.

* MONEY.COM/TAXES: The folks at Money magazine have a very good online tax guide. Check out the line-by-line description of your 1040 form, for example.

 

 

To join the LOW-volume "Sree Tips" e-mail mailing list, send your name and e-mail address to sreetips-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. No more than once a month, you will receive an e-mail message with tips and tricks about new, useful and fun Web sites.