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Would You Let the I.R.S. Prepare Your Taxes? (2015)

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Re: Would You Let the I.R.S. Prepare Your Taxes? (2015)

#11
post #7

I would absolutely let the IRS prepare my taxes... if this workflow or one like it is followed: Jan, I get a 1040 form, prefilled out. If I don't agree that it states my financial position correctly, I can correct it & send it back by Mar 1st. If I do agree, I place it in my file cabinet. But as patio11 noted, at least once, the IRS enforces taxes to the amount Americans will tolerate. What he did not say, but I have…

This is the irony, that in your scenario (which I agree with), My "check" would be to purchase Turbotax or similar and run the numbers.

So whether the IRS pre-fills the 1040 or I do it myself, I'm going to use tax prep software.

I guess they loose the e-filing fees, but most version of the software come with 1 free federal and 1 free state..

Re: Would You Let the I.R.S. Prepare Your Taxes? (2015)

#12

“Your taxes” is such an overloaded term that it’s almost comical to refer to it as if it means the same thing for everyone. There is basically one straight-forward case where the IRS preparing taxes makes sense: that of full time employees whose only income is from their job which issues W2s. For everyone else — which includes: - People working multiple part time jobs - People with non-standard investment portfolios…

Everyone else is, what 10% of filers? If you're in the 10% you'll know it and you'll do private preparation.

Re: Would You Let the I.R.S. Prepare Your Taxes? (2015)

#13

I stopped filing my taxes starting in 2011 for 2010. I had always hated the process, but in 2010 I had switched jobs several times, and had misplaced one of the stubs mailed by an employer. I have almost always worked as an employee, not a contractor or business, so I did not owe money--they probably owed me. I decided that rather than get the couple hundred bucks I would receive as my return, I will forgo the stupid…

What do you mean by giving up income? Do you have a lot of money saved up or something?

Re: Would You Let the I.R.S. Prepare Your Taxes? (2015)

#14
post #11
post #7

I would absolutely let the IRS prepare my taxes... if this workflow or one like it is followed: Jan, I get a 1040 form, prefilled out. If I don't agree that it states my financial position correctly, I can correct it & send it back by Mar 1st. If I do agree, I place it in my file cabinet. But as patio11 noted, at least once, the IRS enforces taxes to the amount Americans will tolerate. What he did not say, but I have…

This is the irony, that in your scenario (which I agree with), My "check" would be to purchase Turbotax or similar and run the numbers. So whether the IRS pre-fills the 1040 or I do it myself, I'm going to use tax prep software. I guess they loose the e-filing fees, but most version of the software come with 1 free federal and 1 free state..

In this scenario, I am quite comfortable checking my own numbers without the aid of specialized software. I use TaxAct today because of e-filing.

In other scenarios, I would prefer to cough up money to talk to a specialist.

Re: Would You Let the I.R.S. Prepare Your Taxes? (2015)

#15

“Your taxes” is such an overloaded term that it’s almost comical to refer to it as if it means the same thing for everyone. There is basically one straight-forward case where the IRS preparing taxes makes sense: that of full time employees whose only income is from their job which issues W2s. For everyone else — which includes: - People working multiple part time jobs - People with non-standard investment portfolios…

I mean the standard deduction is being raised substantially. That's going to make the amount of people hitting the limit far lower.

Re: Would You Let the I.R.S. Prepare Your Taxes? (2015)

#17

I stopped filing my taxes starting in 2011 for 2010. I had always hated the process, but in 2010 I had switched jobs several times, and had misplaced one of the stubs mailed by an employer. I have almost always worked as an employee, not a contractor or business, so I did not owe money--they probably owed me. I decided that rather than get the couple hundred bucks I would receive as my return, I will forgo the stupid…

You may want to consult a tax attorney, if you haven't already...

Re: Would You Let the I.R.S. Prepare Your Taxes? (2015)

#18

I stopped filing my taxes starting in 2011 for 2010. I had always hated the process, but in 2010 I had switched jobs several times, and had misplaced one of the stubs mailed by an employer. I have almost always worked as an employee, not a contractor or business, so I did not owe money--they probably owed me. I decided that rather than get the couple hundred bucks I would receive as my return, I will forgo the stupid…

If IRS owes you money, you need to claim it within 3 years. That's another reason for you to file taxes, even when you think you don't owe them any money.

Re: Would You Let the I.R.S. Prepare Your Taxes? (2015)

#19

I stopped filing my taxes starting in 2011 for 2010. I had always hated the process, but in 2010 I had switched jobs several times, and had misplaced one of the stubs mailed by an employer. I have almost always worked as an employee, not a contractor or business, so I did not owe money--they probably owed me. I decided that rather than get the couple hundred bucks I would receive as my return, I will forgo the stupid…

How did you give up income?
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