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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)

#221

Post by temp0826 »

ptrklly wrote: post #151
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…

I had this same experience, and switched to Credit Karma out of spite toward Turbo Tax. It was fine: https://www.creditkarma.com/tax

They’re both owned by intuit, fwiw

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

#222

Post by JadoJodo »

TurboTax hasn't tricked me into doing anything. I am fully aware that all the forms can be completed manually. I can still remember my Dad sitting at the kitchen table for several nights with all the forms and a calculator every year.

The fees TurboTax charges are worth it to me because I don't want to have to sit at the kitchen table every year and hope that I understand the instructions well enough to fill out all the necessary forms. I can't Unit Test my tax forms. But TurboTax can (and does) and thus it's worth it to me to pay a yearly fee for the convenience. They keep up with all the tax code changes and I complete a 45-minute survey once a year. Boom. Done.

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

#223

Post by [deleted] »

k9000 wrote: post #213
ourmandave wrote: post #162

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!

Not me. I pay the $30 and go about my life while my federal and state returns go straight into my bank account. It's worth it to me. Thanks H&R!

[deleted]

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

#224

Post by kristopolous »

spullara wrote: post #187
cycomanic wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 your taxes are easy in Sweden / Australia they would be easy in the US.

What makes you say that? You know they are intentionally difficult in the US?

For instance, there's been legislation where the IRS would simply tell you how much you owe and you pay it or dispute it. The IRS already know this amount, because this is what eventually happens.

Turbotax successfully lobbied for its defeat. It explicitly spends large amounts of money to complicate and convolute the system and structure it like a classroom quiz.

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

#225

Post by quickthrowman »

carabiner wrote: post #215
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…

How well does FreeTaxUSA work with investments and other complex tax situations? Can it parse PDFs or import data from brokerages in the same way?

No, but it’s not hard to fill in the few boxes of information from the 1099-B. I have 1099-B, Section 1256 contracts, and regulated futures statements and they’re all easy to input.

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

#226

Post by fallingfrog »

JadoJodo wrote: post #222

TurboTax hasn't tricked me into doing anything. I am fully aware that all the forms can be completed manually. I can still remember my Dad sitting at the kitchen table for several nights with all the forms and a calculator every year. The fees TurboTax charges are worth it to me because I don't want to have to sit at the kitchen table every year and hope that I understand the instructions well enough to fill out all…

The federal government could very easily do all that for free and it wouldn’t cost fifty dollars per taxpayer.

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

#227

Post by jbarberu »

spullara wrote: post #187
cycomanic wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 your taxes are easy in Sweden / Australia they would be easy in the US.

As a Swede living in the U.S., I beg to differ.

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

#228

Post by fallingfrog »

alistairSH wrote: post #32
qnk wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honest question, how is lobbying different from bribery? Lobbyists go to Washington, spend fortunes on taking lawmakers to fancy dinners and then get away with what they want. Maybe I don't understand the process and am oversimplifying it, but that's how I see it.

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…

Only to the extent that “I’ll donate a million dollars to your campaign” counts as speech

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

#229

Post by gowld »

thebradbain wrote: post #193
ryandrake wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Even as a full-time college student, I've used a professional, and I'm glad I did. He did things as straightforward as claiming relevant education credits to more esoteric such as maximizing refunds around housing stipends for summer internships. I didn't have to do much else other than reach out to my accountant and provide a W2.

A housing stipend is taxable, unless you are staying at a work location for your employer's convenience.

But yes, Accountants can help you evade taxes in ways unlikely to be audited or caught.

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

#230

Post by lotsofpulp »

JadeNB wrote: post #200
lotsofpulp wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I’ve been using IRS free fillable forms for over 10 years, I think, with no middleman between me and the IRS. Similar with my state taxes on my state’s revenue website.

Sorry, so, just to be clear: you've been filing your forms electronically with the IRS, not printing out the filled forms and mailing them? How? I swear I've looked, and been unable to find a way to file electronically (although I agree it's easy to find the form), except if you fall into certain income categories. I've even been told that it's intentionally legally impossible, as a way for the IRS to avoid competing…

Yes, I use the link here:

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

It’s all electronic. You get an email confirmation.

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