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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)

#411

Post by forgotmypw »

wyldfire wrote: post #23
forgotmypw wrote: post #10

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…

> I gave up income altogether What does this mean?

I stopped paying rent, first couch-surfing and van-dwelling, then living mostly outdoors, in a sleeping bag.

I stopped paying for food, taking advantage of all the food that is wasted daily.

I stopped paying for clothes, wearing free second-hand instead.

That's most of it. For other things, like computers and phones, I follow a similar strategy.

Now I am free to spend almost all the time I have in whatever ways I choose.

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

#412

Post by forgotmypw »

dqpb wrote: post #19
forgotmypw wrote: post #10

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?

I stopped paying rent, first couch-surfing and van-dwelling, then living mostly outdoors, in a sleeping bag.

I stopped paying for food, taking advantage of all the food that is wasted daily.

I stopped paying for clothes, wearing free second-hand instead.

That's most of it. For other things, like computers and phones, I follow a similar strategy.

Now I am free to spend almost all the time I have in whatever ways I choose.

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

#413

Post by forgotmypw »

bena wrote: post #113
InitialLastName wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After a quick glance through their comment history, it appears they figured out this one neat trick called "homelessness".

"Beat the IRS with this one simple trick. Auditors hate him." Reminds me of this video I was watching on tiny homes. This guy converted a school bus into a home for him, his wife, and three children. And he was totally over-selling everything in it. Going on an on about how you can hang stuff here and there to save space. How the counters can be used for this and that and how multipurpose they are (like most flat sur…

To each his own, I guess. I am always home and free to do those things. I have yet to be stabbed or die from exposure.

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

#414

Post by forgotmypw »

InitialLastName wrote: post #212
newman8r wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If that's true then I feel bad for the guy. Would probably be best for the IRS to give people amnesty in that situation.

I feel worse for the people whose actual, involuntary problems they are trivializing by presenting (true or not) their situation as a "lifestyle choice". If it helps, some other comments in this thread indicate that there's no need to file a tax return on yearly income under ~$10,000 so this person and others in their situation would likely qualify. I don't think the IRS should give amnesty for past willful nonpaymen…

If you re-read my comment, you will see that there was never a non-payment, only a non-filing.

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

#415

Post by Spooky23 »

hundt wrote: post #320
Spooky23 wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Think of it this way. There are about 125 million households in the US. 80% of those households obtain money via: W-2, Retirement (Social Security, 1099-r), bank interest via 1099, dividends or other investment income via 1099, contractor income via 1099 and similar. 13% of taxpayers can file a 1040EZ (aka simple enough to use a phone IVR) 100 million households can be freed of a needless administrative burden. Why n…

First of all, no self-employed taxpayer ("contractor income via 1099") could have an accurate return prepared by the IRS because the IRS won't know their expenses. But secondly there's a lot more to taxes than just income. For example: - Filing status (married, head of household, etc.) - Education credits - Child credits - Personal exemptions (income adjustment reduced to zero, but you still need to calculate them to…

That's all data that the IRS either has already or can collect more simply. So, because 20 million households can't have a form auto-filled, we should forget about the other 100 million?

The other upshot is that the expense and non-compliance from a tax perspective would probably drive more W-2 employees in situations where 1099 status is being abused. (ie. probably 40%)

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

#416

Post by forgotmypw »

newman8r wrote: post #111
InitialLastName wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After a quick glance through their comment history, it appears they figured out this one neat trick called "homelessness".

If that's true then I feel bad for the guy. Would probably be best for the IRS to give people amnesty in that situation.

Don't feel bad for me. I'm happier than I've ever been.

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

#417

Post by bena »

forgotmypw wrote: post #413
bena wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Beat the IRS with this one simple trick. Auditors hate him." Reminds me of this video I was watching on tiny homes. This guy converted a school bus into a home for him, his wife, and three children. And he was totally over-selling everything in it. Going on an on about how you can hang stuff here and there to save space. How the counters can be used for this and that and how multipurpose they are (like most flat sur…

To each his own, I guess. I am always home and free to do those things. I have yet to be stabbed or die from exposure.

Where is home? You've mentioned elsewhere that you couchsurf. That's pretty much just mooching off of someone else's largess. And without a permanent, private residence where do you keep things like a guitar or built models?

Being able to live "cash free" because you are able to stay with people who will let you crash rent free is more exploitative than savvy in my opinion.

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

#418

Post by sDlEzAtyoNAz »

jschwartzi wrote: post #337
sDlEzAtyoNAz wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you look at the low level of fatalities on the autobahn, I don't see how you can argue those speeds are unsafe.

It's a lot harder to get a license in Germany than in the US, and there's more of an expectation that you keep your vehicle in good repair. I could argue that the speed limit on the Autobahn is a result of selecting for more conscientious and capable drivers rather than proof that higher speeds are safe in general.

I'm not sure what it would mean for a speed to be "safe in general". What is the general case? Whether a particular speed is safe or not is situation dependent, and the situation absolutely includes the quality of the drivers and vehicles involved.

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

#419

Post by jrockway »

grkvlt wrote: post #302
jrockway wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So... I apparently messed up my 2016 taxes, and the IRS sent me a letter entitled "suggested tax correction" or something to that effect. They attached the data that they claimed I omitted (indeed, Turbotax silently discarded that data), and how much I owed. I then paid them online. I think the IRS is super paranoid about people hiding information from them, and then never being liable for the taxes. Right now, if th…

> I think the IRS is super paranoid about people hiding information from them, and then never being liable for the taxes Yeah, why do people pay out all that stupid money, when its as simple as just not telling the taxman? Really, if it was like that then tax evasion would be pretty simple...

Your sarcasm, I think, is unwarranted. I'm saying that's the IRS's fear, not that the fear is well-founded or that you should attempt to evade taxes.

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

#420

Post by hundt »

Spooky23 wrote: post #415
hundt wrote: post #320

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First of all, no self-employed taxpayer ("contractor income via 1099") could have an accurate return prepared by the IRS because the IRS won't know their expenses. But secondly there's a lot more to taxes than just income. For example: - Filing status (married, head of household, etc.) - Education credits - Child credits - Personal exemptions (income adjustment reduced to zero, but you still need to calculate them to…

That's all data that the IRS either has already or can collect more simply. So, because 20 million households can't have a form auto-filled, we should forget about the other 100 million? The other upshot is that the expense and non-compliance from a tax perspective would probably drive more W-2 employees in situations where 1099 status is being abused. (ie. probably 40%)

> That's all data that the IRS either has already or can collect more simply.

How can the IRS collect information on your filing status and family/dependent situation that would be simpler than just asking you to file a tax return? It's not just a matter of who lives where, you know.

They could always implement something like TurboTax. That's a reasonable option, but a far cry from "pre-filled forms."

> So, because 20 million households can't have a form auto-filled, we should forget about the other 100 million?

Well the issue is that the IRS has no way of knowing which of the households are the "easy" ones, because that is determined by facts not reported to them (except on a 1040). They can guess, but I think they would be wrong pretty frequently.

I think you have the underlying premise that the IRS guessing wrong has no cost, because you can just correct it. But my suspicion is that a lot of people would just file with the incorrect information, either willingly or unwillingly, and many of those people would have put the correct information if they had paid someone or bought software to do it for them. So I disagree with your premise.

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