TurboTax will be remembered as a classic example of extreme capitalism.
or extreme lobbying
IRS Reforms Free File Program, Drops Agreement Not to Compete with TurboTax
131–140 of 489 posts
Re: IRS Reforms Free File Program, Drops Agreement Not to Compete with TurboTax
#132In the US, we've had decades of (largely GOP) messaging that the government can't do anything properly. A substantial portion of the population believes it. As noted in a sibling comment, the IRS could pre-fill forms that would be correct for the vast majority of tax payers (who take the standard deduction/don't itemize, have a single job, and no other edge cases). These people should not be paying TurboTax either wa…
I have had a different experience. Last year I filled out my 1040EZ and was unhappy with the final amount owed. I decided to click through turbo tax who found me a lot of deductions related to student loans and things. I think I only paid like $35 and they saved me over a thousand I would have missed otherwise.
And truthfully, it's not a lot of money. I would gladly pay $30-40 just to not have to deal with the hassle of filling out a piece of paper and mailing it and all that. Now that the IRS seems to have a decent electronic system, I'll give that a go this year and see if turbo tax is worth it anymore.
Yeah, turbo tax is a pretty scummy company with all the lobbying and deception. I won't argue that. But their product is genuinely good and provides utility to me, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
Re: IRS Reforms Free File Program, Drops Agreement Not to Compete with TurboTax
#133In the US, we've had decades of (largely GOP) messaging that the government can't do anything properly. A substantial portion of the population believes it. As noted in a sibling comment, the IRS could pre-fill forms that would be correct for the vast majority of tax payers (who take the standard deduction/don't itemize, have a single job, and no other edge cases). These people should not be paying TurboTax either wa…
It's pretty disgusting. Summed up in one of my favorite tweets, which went something like > Gov: you owe us money. It's called taxes > Ctzn: oh ok, how much do I owe you? > Gov: you have to figure it out > Ctzn: oh well, then I owe you 0 > Gov: no, no, we know how much you owe, you have to figure it out, and by the way if you get it wrong you go to jail
You don't go to jail for filing a wrong number accidentally. Only if you are intentionally lying/hiding income. I know people who didn't pay tax FOR THEIR BUSINESS for several years and they settled the debt for much less than they owed and definitely did not go to jail. This is just misinformation.
Re: IRS Reforms Free File Program, Drops Agreement Not to Compete with TurboTax
#134Earlier quoted context omitted.
The "penalties" are just what you owed plus interest. I think the IRS will only charge an actual penalty if they think you were deliberately trying to avoid taxes.
> The "penalties" are just what you owed plus interest Sure, interest after 6 years can accumulate into a nice penalty sum on top of what is owed. If IRS ends up owing you, and they discover it 6 years later, would they send you the refund with an interest as well? I am guessing they won't.
I once filed taxes late (filed like 2012 taxes in early 2014) and my refund included interest, I think it was sent in a second check.
They also sent me some form the year after that so I could declare the couple dollars interest I got from the IRS as income.
Re: IRS Reforms Free File Program, Drops Agreement Not to Compete with TurboTax
#135In the US, we've had decades of (largely GOP) messaging that the government can't do anything properly. A substantial portion of the population believes it. As noted in a sibling comment, the IRS could pre-fill forms that would be correct for the vast majority of tax payers (who take the standard deduction/don't itemize, have a single job, and no other edge cases). These people should not be paying TurboTax either wa…
I have had a different experience. Last year I filled out my 1040EZ and was unhappy with the final amount owed. I decided to click through turbo tax who found me a lot of deductions related to student loans and things. I think I only paid like $35 and they saved me over a thousand I would have missed otherwise. And truthfully, it's not a lot of money. I would gladly pay $30-40 just to not have to deal with the hassle…
For non-americans reading this I presume the parent poster means "paying on top of the amount already withheld by the government", not total income taxation.
Re: IRS Reforms Free File Program, Drops Agreement Not to Compete with TurboTax
#136This USA tax thing has always baffled me... it is the exact definition of why we pay taxes: for the government to provide services that are common to the country´s citizens. There´s nothing more common than tax collection: rich, middle class or poor. Why wouldn't citizens demand a public tax filing process? Even in Mexico we have an automagical tax filing process that makes: a) The great majority of the population wh…
Even a lot of the more complex things could be automated. For example, the only slightly complex thing about my taxes are capital gains and interest. It would not be hard to have my brokerages/banks coordinate with the IRS to autopay my taxes on that as well, just like my income taxes are auto paid.
Does the government automatically know what you spent in business expenses? Or what charitable donations you made? Or what property you may have lost during the year?
Re: IRS Reforms Free File Program, Drops Agreement Not to Compete with TurboTax
#137In the US, we've had decades of (largely GOP) messaging that the government can't do anything properly. A substantial portion of the population believes it. As noted in a sibling comment, the IRS could pre-fill forms that would be correct for the vast majority of tax payers (who take the standard deduction/don't itemize, have a single job, and no other edge cases). These people should not be paying TurboTax either wa…
I have had a different experience. Last year I filled out my 1040EZ and was unhappy with the final amount owed. I decided to click through turbo tax who found me a lot of deductions related to student loans and things. I think I only paid like $35 and they saved me over a thousand I would have missed otherwise. And truthfully, it's not a lot of money. I would gladly pay $30-40 just to not have to deal with the hassle…
> I decided to click through turbo tax who found me a lot of deductions related to student loans and things.
We require any companies who collect interest payments on things like student loans to automatically report that to the IRS. We could then have the IRS fill that in for your tax return automatically.
But special interests don't want that to happen.
Re: IRS Reforms Free File Program, Drops Agreement Not to Compete with TurboTax
#138There is no reason the IRS shouldn't have a simple, online fillable 1099EZ that makes the calculations and validations for you. And while their at it, match the SSN to the w2 info that they have on file. This would take care of 80% of the population. Just don't outsource it. I'm sure USDS could have it ready in less than a year.
100% agree. To me they seem to be playing this perverse game of knowing how much you owe based on your W-2s then not telling you, waiting for you to file and guess how much you owe just right. If you guess wrong tough luck, you get penalties years later.
As an average Joe it seems like it can be pretty much impossible to figure out the rules in any number of corner cases.
For example. I'm considering installing Solar Panels on my house. The entirety of the official IRS guidance (in the manuals) is this:
"Qualified solar electric property costs are costs for property that uses solar energy to generate electricity for use in your home located in the United States. No costs relating to a solar panel or other property installed as a roof (or portion thereof) will fail to qualify solely because the property constitutes a structural component of the structure on which it is installed. The home doesn't have to be your main home."
So of course the first question you ask is "Ok, I have to fix my roof to install solar, and that appears to be covered. But does it only cover the part of the roof covered by the panels or does it cover the entire roof job? Does it cover the costs of only a basic roof job or a premium job? If it only covers the portion under the panels what is the procedure to prorate the costs?"
It wasn't clear to me so I called the IRS help line, figuring that this is their job. They are the ones that ultimately decide one way or the other if my deduction is valid or felony tax fraud. The official guidance from the help line is "We do not offer guidance on that issue." The money we are talking about isn't trivial either. It can amount to thousands of dollars, guessing wrong could theoretically mean actual jail time or massive fines if someone at the IRS decides to make an example of you.
Like WTF IRS. I'm trying to do right here and you're literally making it impossible.
Re: IRS Reforms Free File Program, Drops Agreement Not to Compete with TurboTax
#139Earlier quoted context omitted.
The "penalties" are just what you owed plus interest. I think the IRS will only charge an actual penalty if they think you were deliberately trying to avoid taxes.
> The "penalties" are just what you owed plus interest Sure, interest after 6 years can accumulate into a nice penalty sum on top of what is owed. If IRS ends up owing you, and they discover it 6 years later, would they send you the refund with an interest as well? I am guessing they won't.
Yes the government always pays interest on money it owes you.
Re: IRS Reforms Free File Program, Drops Agreement Not to Compete with TurboTax
#140Earlier quoted context omitted.
Even a lot of the more complex things could be automated. For example, the only slightly complex thing about my taxes are capital gains and interest. It would not be hard to have my brokerages/banks coordinate with the IRS to autopay my taxes on that as well, just like my income taxes are auto paid.
Does the government automatically know what you spent in business expenses? Or what charitable donations you made? Or what property you may have lost during the year?
I’m not saying those are easy to automate, or that everything can be automated, I’m saying a lot of things are able to be automated. Not only capital gains and interests, I suppose mortgage interest deduction would also be easy.