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TurboTax Tricked You into Paying to File Your Taxes (2019)

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Re: TurboTax Tricked You into Paying to File Your Taxes (2019)

#161

Post by vlunkr »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #46
DavidPeiffer wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>And yet what am I going to do but use turbo tax again. The perceived risk and effort of using a non-automated system to fill them out doesn't seem worth the cost. I'd suggest FreeTaxUSA.com as an alternative. Federal is always free, and state taxes are ~12/state. I don't have anything obscure about my taxes, and their forms indicate they can handle much more complicated situations than I have. I've used them for 3 y…

Why not use the official IRS free file forms?

As another freetaxusa user, I would rather pay a very small fee to have the tool walk me through the process than try to figure it out myself.

Re: TurboTax Tricked You into Paying to File Your Taxes (2019)

#162

Post by ourmandave »

Every year I do my taxes on H&R Block or one of the others right up to the point where I review the form and the next step is to submit.

Then I write all the numbers down and file for free on Free File Fillable Forms.

https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/free-file-fillable-form...

Thanks H&R!

Re: TurboTax Tricked You into Paying to File Your Taxes (2019)

#163

Post by ivalm »

cycomanic wrote: post #145
DavidPeiffer wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>And yet what am I going to do but use turbo tax again. The perceived risk and effort of using a non-automated system to fill them out doesn't seem worth the cost. I'd suggest FreeTaxUSA.com as an alternative. Federal is always free, and state taxes are ~12/state. I don't have anything obscure about my taxes, and their forms indicate they can handle much more complicated situations than I have. I've used them for 3 y…

Here in Sweden I go to the tax office website, log in, have a brief look at that all my salary has been correctly entered (I have yet to encounter that it hasn't) add if I possibly want to deduct some extra things (also very uncomplicated), go to file and click send (the whole thing can even be done on mobile) . The process typically takes 20min max, Australia was quite similar. I'm always amazed by tax systems which…

If all your taxes are just wages then you just fill out a two page form (1040). Literally just copy a couple of numbers from your w2 and you’re good. The problem is if you have non-salary sources of income (eg stock, non-employee compensation, etc) then things can rapidly become very complicated.

Re: TurboTax Tricked You into Paying to File Your Taxes (2019)

#164

Post by bluGill »

mellavora wrote: post #139
lotsofpulp wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Part of the reason is because tax software companies pay legislators to make and keep taxes complicated. There is no reason, with the advent of internet and databases, that 90% of people’s taxes can’t be completely automated. Part of the reason is because more tax rules means more loopholes to take advantage of.

In Sweden taxes are fully automated. Has been for years. What makes it possible is a comprehensive national ID system. Which has advantages and disadvantages.

The US has everything needed, except the political will.

Re: TurboTax Tricked You into Paying to File Your Taxes (2019)

#165

Post by vineyardmike »

vmception wrote: post #77
klmadfejno wrote: post #21

I used to say turbo tax wasn't that bad, and that free filing was easy if you just ignored their promises to save you money if you upgraded. Last year however I got all the way to the end of the process where they revealed I made too much and had to pay. That felt extremely unethical, as the information required to come to that conclusion was available far earlier in the process. And yet what am I going to do but use…

> And yet what am I going to do but use turbo tax again. The perceived risk and effort That’s so cute how everyone is afraid of the IRS boogeyman Everyone believes whichever way they first became comfortable with is saving them money and their freedom I know people that would say the exact same thing except they are referring to their table full of printed out forms Literally everyone with a super wrong and very huma…

> That’s so cute how everyone is afraid of the IRS boogeyman

Its so cute how everyone is afraid of a government agency that is opaque and can charge you fines or jail time for not correctly filling out their documents :)

Re: TurboTax Tricked You into Paying to File Your Taxes (2019)

#166

Post by andrewflnr »

dcolkitt wrote: post #152
steverb wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having lived through my parents being audited multiple times I am definitely afraid of the IRS boogey man. Merely dealing with an audit (even if everything you id was correct and above board) can be extremely stressful and time consuming. My parents also thought their CPA was really good an knew what they were doing. Turns out that even CPAs screw up sometimes. :-)

I don't know how long ago this was, but in the past couple decades the likelihood of a regular Joe getting audited has plummeted. IRS enforcement has pretty much been gutted by Congress. For everyone but high earners, it all comes down to automated checks that run at file time. If you don't have any obvious flags (e.g. not reporting income that was on a W2), then the IRS doesn't have time for you.

That's how it should be.

Re: TurboTax Tricked You into Paying to File Your Taxes (2019)

#167

Post by [deleted] »

vulcan01 wrote: post #87
mywittyname wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Credit Karma is free. Works great, and has no discernable dark patterns. They even have import features from major payroll companies like ADP. I had to quit turbotax because one year I was a 1099 worker and every year since, it pushes me to go with their "small business edition." Each year it got harder to avoid "upgrading." Seriously, just do it. Quitting TT is so much easier than quitting anything else.

How does Credit Karma make money? I'd feel more comfortable using them if I understood this.

[deleted]

Re: TurboTax Tricked You into Paying to File Your Taxes (2019)

#168

Post by dizzant »

DavidPeiffer wrote: post #34
klmadfejno wrote: post #21

I used to say turbo tax wasn't that bad, and that free filing was easy if you just ignored their promises to save you money if you upgraded. Last year however I got all the way to the end of the process where they revealed I made too much and had to pay. That felt extremely unethical, as the information required to come to that conclusion was available far earlier in the process. And yet what am I going to do but use…

>And yet what am I going to do but use turbo tax again. The perceived risk and effort of using a non-automated system to fill them out doesn't seem worth the cost. I'd suggest FreeTaxUSA.com as an alternative. Federal is always free, and state taxes are ~12/state. I don't have anything obscure about my taxes, and their forms indicate they can handle much more complicated situations than I have. I've used them for 3 y…

Let me add my recommendation for FreeTaxUSA.com. I am a newly married grad student on fellowship, which implies juggling estimated taxes, confusing withholding rules, scholarship income, a name change, and first-time joint filing. Needless to say, I am not a "simple" case. After TurboTax failed to prepare my forms correctly (!) and wanted to charge me for the displeasure, I went looking for an alternative. FreeTaxUSA.com is where I landed.

The interface is fairly minimal. The workflow mirrors the questions/boxes on the IRS forms/instructions, a very helpful feature in my situation since I could easily cross-reference the relevant IRS publications when necessary. They provide excerpts from the documents as you go, which is all I needed in many instances. Unlike TurboTax, the prepared forms were actually correct (to the best of my knowledge, I am not a tax lawyer).

Simple, cheap, reliable. Would and do recommend.

EDIT: Story is related to last year, I plan to use them again this year.

Re: TurboTax Tricked You into Paying to File Your Taxes (2019)

#169

Post by andrewflnr »

htrp wrote: post #155
alistairSH wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll flip the question around... How is lobbying different than random voter talking to their representative in person? It isn't really - a lobbyist is just exercising the free speech available to all individuals - they just happen to be doing it on behalf of a group of individuals. I'm purposefully ignoring the whole "corporations are people" aspect because that's a different discussion. But, what you seem to be arg…

Do you have your senator's personal cell phone number? Does your senator recognize you by face? Will he remember whatever question you're talking about even if you secure a f2f meeting? The lobbyist, who used to be that senator's chief of staff definitely does......

None of that is bribery, though, which was the original question.

Re: TurboTax Tricked You into Paying to File Your Taxes (2019)

#170

Post by benlivengood »

ryandrake wrote: post #120
asavadatti wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless your taxes are really simple I’d suggest hiring a professional to do it for you. It is money well spent

I always hear this, but what does "simple" mean? Do you recommend a professional if you have rental income? Stuent loan interest? Stock sales? Stock options? Convert a 401(k) to an IRA? Inherit money? Own a small business? I've done all these things painlessly with regular tax software. I've also tried a professional CPA once, and he was useless. Just sat there asking me every question that the software normally woul…

> Do you recommend a professional if you have rental income?

Unless you know exactly what your cost basis is, yes. It gets complicated with construction loans, HELOCs, refinances, having lived in a property for quite a while before renting, etc.

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