Stairway to tax heaven

The paperwork. The jargon. The fear of being audited. Let's face it: Doing your taxes is rarely fun.

With filing season upon us, the clock is ticking to get this year's return in to the IRS on time. CNBC senior personal finance correspondent Sharon Epperson has five simple tips that will jump-start the process, keep your information safe and, most important, keep you out of tax hell.