Tax time is upon us yet again, and if you are smart, you’ve already prepared and filed your taxes and cashed your refund check. Unfortunately, most of us simply don’t fit into that rare breed that gets taxes done before they’re due, which is why we’ll find ourselves standing in line at the local post office late in the day on April 15th. It’s not that we aren’t smart, precisely, or that we haven’t gone through this same headache in the past, but we all lead busy lives and sometimes the daily demands of jobs, kids, and other obligations simply take priority (until taxes become the most pressing issue). In short, there are probably still plenty of people out there scrambling to get their earnings, deductions, and so on in order so as to file their tax returns for 2012. And while you may not be terribly keen to file via your smartphone or tablet with apps designed to make the experience easier, it couldn’t hurt to download a refund calculator that helps you determine the amount of your return.

Aside from having a wicked cool name, the TaxSlayer application for your iPhone is appealing in a number of ways. First of all, it’s free, which is great news for anyone who’s a little worried that they might end up owing the IRS this year instead of getting money back. But you might want to know for sure if you can look forward to receiving a refund or if you’ll find yourself on the hook for a payment to the IRS, and this is where TaxSlayer aims to give you the information you’re seeking before you even file your taxes. And it walks you through the process of calculating your estimate with simple data entry fields that will help you to get figure out your refund within minutes.

You’ll start by entering personal information including your age and questions about your status, such as whether or not you’re married or if you can be claimed as a dependent, just for example. Next you’ll move on to the income section, where you’ll input information pertaining to earnings, including wages, profit from a business, unemployment income, and so on. From there you’ll go to deductions, where you’ll note any payouts for your business, medical bills, spousal support, and more. Once you’ve provided all of this information, you can go to the results section to see a summary of income, deductions, exemptions, and withholdings to make sure you didn’t miss anything. And of course, the app will provide you with your estimated return.

It’s important to note that this app is currently only good for the 2012 tax year, although one would hope that it gets updated with the new tax code for 2013/2014 before the next tax season. But as such, it should provide you with a fairly reliable and accurate quote based on the information you enter. The best part about using TaxSlayer before you go see your tax prep specialist or file online, though, is that it can help you to get a better refund. If the amount you’re slated to receive seems low, for example, it may prompt you to dig through receipts and bills to come up with a few more deductions for the year that you might have otherwise missed. So it can not only give you an estimate on your return, but it could also motivate you to work a little harder in order to see a better payout.