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TurboTax Hides Its Free File Page from Search Engines

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Re: TurboTax Hides Its Free File Page from Search Engines

#231

Post by Symbiote »

ac29 wrote: post #208
rando444 wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Australia, like in Europe and most countries, when you log in to do your taxes, your forms are pre-filled with everything the government already has on record for you. You can add to it or modify it as you see fit, but the vast majority of people just accept the default values and they're done. Most people spend more time finding their login info than verifying their taxes. With the amount people complain about th…

That's definitely better than what we have in the US, but the majority of people in the US don't need more than the standard form 1040 [0], which isn't too hard to fill out. Tax software vendors and accountants want people to believe its more complicated than it really is, when in reality most people only have a single source of income, and maybe a child tax credit and mortgage interest credit. For these people, doin…

That form isn't long, but would be less intimidating if it were spread out over 3-4 pages, with larger fonts and no abbreviations.

Compare a UK tax form (not for the usual, simple case; I don't know if there is a form for that): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/...

(Although as it says, 92% of people fill in this form online. I can't look, as it requires a login, but it should be a good UX going by the other forms on the gov.uk site.)

Re: TurboTax Hides Its Free File Page from Search Engines

#232

Post by cabaalis »

mlindner wrote: post #194

The IRS already provides a free-file option, you just need to spend more time reading instructions. https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/before-starting-free-fi... Not sure what all the hate is here. If you're not completely uneducated, you can figure this out yourself.

> In exchange for the IRS promising not to create its own free, online filing tool, Intuit, H&R Block and other companies signed a deal to offer Free File options to lower-income Americans.

Hence the hate when they attempt to hide such an option. Signed a deal.

Re: TurboTax Hides Its Free File Page from Search Engines

#233

Post by jjoonathan »

jakelazaroff wrote: post #174
ahallock wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And this is surprising because? It would be surprising if they didn't do that, honestly. The government is at fault here for selling political power and not representing the interests of the people. We could boycott Intuit, I suppose, or use different products, but aside from that, the fault and source of the problem lies squarely with the government.

I truly don't understand this logic. If I found some legal loophole by which I could indiscriminately murder people with no repercussions, no one would excuse it with "well, technically he was allowed to do this so why are we surprised?" And if I were working with the government to create that loophole… I mean, in this scenario, I'm still murdering people, right? Should my conscience be clean because the government w…

Haven't you heard? "Incentives made me do it" is an excuse that frees you from all responsibility!

Re: TurboTax Hides Its Free File Page from Search Engines

#234

Post by mars4rp »

danso wrote: post #229
mars4rp wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am the developer in charge of this, thanks for promoting it.

Is this full time work e.g. do they keep a team to develop and maintain it year round?

It is only me on Dev side of it, and I say around %60 of my time is spent on this app. we do maintain it year around and add features to it.

I am in the process of a complete rewrite of it, to make it more accessible(law mandated), and adding some extra features.

Re: TurboTax Hides Its Free File Page from Search Engines

#235

Post by ahallock »

jakelazaroff wrote: post #174
ahallock wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And this is surprising because? It would be surprising if they didn't do that, honestly. The government is at fault here for selling political power and not representing the interests of the people. We could boycott Intuit, I suppose, or use different products, but aside from that, the fault and source of the problem lies squarely with the government.

I truly don't understand this logic. If I found some legal loophole by which I could indiscriminately murder people with no repercussions, no one would excuse it with "well, technically he was allowed to do this so why are we surprised?" And if I were working with the government to create that loophole… I mean, in this scenario, I'm still murdering people, right? Should my conscience be clean because the government w…

> If I found some legal loophole by which I could indiscriminately murder people with no repercussions

That's a pretty absurd argument. And the government can actually kill people legally, by design.

All I'm saying is that Intuit is a symptom of a larger problem with gov selling political power. Intuit is trash for what they're doing, I agree.

Re: TurboTax Hides Its Free File Page from Search Engines

#236

Post by danso »

mars4rp wrote: post #234
danso wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this full time work e.g. do they keep a team to develop and maintain it year round?

It is only me on Dev side of it, and I say around %60 of my time is spent on this app. we do maintain it year around and add features to it. I am in the process of a complete rewrite of it, to make it more accessible(law mandated), and adding some extra features.

I hope someday they let you (as in, pay you for your time, not just give the OK) write a bit about that process. Always interested in hearing not just about the software engineering process and stack, but any specific factors or issues when making and iterating on such public-facing software.

Re: TurboTax Hides Its Free File Page from Search Engines

#237

Post by Sohcahtoa82 »

mortgagemonster wrote: post #54
maxmcd wrote: post #34

I learned a little while ago that H&R Block makes a substantial amount of its revenue from "refund anticipation loans" (no citation, I couldn't find it here: https://investors.hrblock.com/static-files/4293dedf-951d-454... maybe my information is overblown). Is there a reason there isn't a "Robin Hood for Taxes"? A service that makes all of its revenue off of refund anticipation loads and provides all tax services for…

Credit Karma does legitimately free filing

I prepared my taxes with Credit Karma, then with Turbo Tax, and CK was showing me a significantly higher return that TT. Upon investigating, I found that I had accidentally claimed my mortgage interested deduction twice, and didn't enter my 1099-G from my state tax refund from the previous year.

CK makes it too easy to make a mistake. TT is a much more polished product, which makes sense since they've been doing it for decades. I trust TT more than CK.

That said, TT doesn't charge you until you file. So I use both, make sure the numbers match, then file with CK for free.

Re: TurboTax Hides Its Free File Page from Search Engines

#238

Post by thedragonline »

mola wrote: post #102
Demiurge wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? This is a greedy policy, not an engineering decision. How many engineers have managers they disagree with? I'm sure you've always quit every company in such a situation?

(software) Engineers in todays economy are privileged with the ability to choose their jobs. I think people with power should help fix wrongs inflicted on other people and not silently comply for a share of the pie. I turned down a few jobs I found immoral even though the compensation was substantially higher than the alternatives. Not everyone have this privilege, but when you do, I believe there's a moral obligatio…

I turned down contract work from a well-known telecom. The pay was great, unfortunately for them, I have no interest in helping them destroy your privacy. Of course, if I were desperate and had no runway, that would likely change the calculus. UBI would be a godsend in this regard.

Re: TurboTax Hides Its Free File Page from Search Engines

#239

Post by astura »

Consultant32452 wrote: post #205
astura wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Am I correct in understanding that interest paid to deposits at a credit union get you a 1099-DIV? No, income from interest paid on deposit accounts is reported on form 1099-INT, not 1099-DIV. 1099-DIV is for dividend income. 1099-INT for interest income. They are are reported different places on your tax form. Nowadays most people don't get 1099-INTs from their banks or credit unions because interest rates are so l…

Ok, the confusing bit for me is that credit union deposits are called shares and the earnings are called dividends. However, you still get a 1099-INT, I believe because these shares are not considered securities. https://budgeting.thenest.com/report-dividends-credit-union-...

Ah, yes, I can see how that would be confusing.

I never bought into all the credit union jargon ("share," "share draft", etc.) so I forgot they pay "dividends" instead of "interest."

In short, I believe this is the way it works: because credit union members are owners of the credit union, the profit paid to members are considered dividends by dictionary definition, however, the IRS considers them interest by their rules. Just like VA disability, getting a check from the government every month is obviously income, but the IRS doesn't consider VA disability income by their rules.

Re: TurboTax Hides Its Free File Page from Search Engines

#240

Post by Gene_Parmesan »

kristopolous wrote: post #140
cr0sh wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know why, but all of this "privatization" bugs the hell out of me. Maybe it has something to with wanting to see my taxes being used properly, rather than going to a private company's profits. Maybe it's the abstraction; that'd I like to know that the workers I see doing the work for the government are government employees, and that I am, in some small way, helping them? I mean, sure, with a private company t…

Many are convinced that paying the workers, the lobbyists, shareholders, board of directors, and contract overhead is cheaper than just paying the workers directly. I've been investigating why people think this for years. I've read a number of books, listened to lectures, went to proseminars in economics at UC schools, took some classes ... Recently, I've become increasingly convinced it's actually just a giant hustl…

> Just like 500 years ago how religious people controlled the narrative and set up the rules of society and "laws of nature" to basically be giant money trees for them, there's a new class of people who have done the same thing.

It's still religion, in terms of the psychology behind it. It's just a religion devoted to money. Every middle-income person has been fooled into thinking that they're a CEO for a company of one, so instead of viewing taxation and public works as good for their fellow human, they've been trained merely to see the dollar signs draining from their coffers.

Individuals in the U.S. now truly believe that their lives are better keeping the additional 10% (or whatever) of their income than letting that be used for the public good. They physically can't allow themselves to see the cumulative potential of everybody giving an extra 10% to the public good, and just how much improvement their lives could see from it.

People have been trained to see the government as a black hole of money wasting. I mean, the myth that NASA spent millions on developing a space pen while the Russians used a pencil -- haha I can't believe how stupidly the feds spend money -- persists to this day, despite it just not being true. A private company developed the space pen, NASA bought a few thousand, and the Russians also ended up developing space pens. But no, the myth is now ingrained. I remember being told this as a fifth grader.

And yes, there is corruption in the public sphere that has strong negative effects on the efficient investment of public funds. But where does this corruption stem from? Sure, there's the occasional bad actor Congressman who's in it just for his own pockets. But the bulk of the systemic issues are heavily influenced by the corrupting influence of giant, private corporations.

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