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Show HN: ustaxes.org – open-source tax filing webapp

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Re: Show HN: ustaxes.org – open-source tax filing webapp

#71

Post by Hamuko »

jsmith99 wrote: post #66
Hamuko wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder how many people actually bother claiming their home office as an expense for 2020. It's pretty easy to do (I did it), but the benefit isn't that massive and inaction is easier than action. The standard flat deduction for "work-related expenses" is 750 euro and you can bump that to 900 euro if you worked remotely for >50% of the year's workdays. Of course, if you actually incurred more expenses (and kept trac…

In the UK, if you've had to work at home at all this year, you just tell the tax authorities online by ticking a few boxes on their website and they automatically adjust your PAYE code (what Americans would call withholding) so you pay less tax. It means that you don't have to fill out a tax return just because of simple adjustments like this.

Sounds easier than what we have, since we still have to more or less browse through the entire form. The tax authorities actually have instructions with screenshots in English how it works: https://www.vero.fi/en/individuals/tax-cards-and-tax-returns...

Re: Show HN: ustaxes.org – open-source tax filing webapp

#72

Post by Robin_Message »

vages wrote: post #55
benhurmarcel wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You'd be hard-pressed to find any other developed country than the US where it's not similar to that.

Great! Do you have an example of a form from your home country (assuming you don't live in the US)?

Most UK citizens never fill in a tax form.

VAT is handled by shops for you.

Council tax (local tax based on property value) you are sent a bill based on the value of your property. There are various exemptions and deductions for exceptional cases, but otherwise you just pay the amount.

Income taxes are deducted by your employer from your paycheck under a system called PAYE (pay as you earn). It works basically perfectly if you have one job, and can even cope with multiple jobs, variable income, etc.

If you have an issue with incorrect income tax, there is a friendly call centre who are generally knowledgeable and can fix things with minimal effort on your part; and they also handle some common exceptions (e.g. dividend income under £10,000) over the phone rather than via a form.

Re: Show HN: ustaxes.org – open-source tax filing webapp

#73

Post by systemvoltage »

janwillemb wrote: post #26

In the Netherlands the tagline of the tax authorities used to be "we can't make it funnier, but we can make it easier". Most tax forms are online and pre-filled with data they already have. For most people it's probably a matter of minutes.

I prefer the US style actually. The government assumes flexibility, citizen’s responsibility and their ability to challenge their calculations / deductions by default. When that’s not the case, there is 1040-EZ [1] for people who want to simplify. 1040-EZ can be done in 10 mins max.

I also enjoy filing taxes. It’s one of those things that allow you to reflect on your work, how you did, optimize the deductions, and get a reward at the end. It’s fun.

[1] https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-1040-ez

Re: Show HN: ustaxes.org – open-source tax filing webapp

#74

Post by wwn_se »

systemvoltage wrote: post #70
llarsson wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Sweden, the employers are responsible for reporting your income and banks your profits on sales of stocks, funds, and real estate. So "doing your taxes" is, for most people, just logging in and saying "yes" to the computed value. You can even just send a text to do so.

In the US, IRS takes the tax cut before you even see your funds in the bank account. This can be adjusted by filling out the dependents #. Basically, allowing you to have some ability to adjust based on your needs. The IRS knows everything about your taxes. The filing process is about allowing the citizen to make deductions and providing flexibility by default . I actually prefer it this way. Note that I’m not saying…

You can change stuff in the Swedish forms as well. Since everything i prefilled you just need to add in a number and recalculate. But most deductions would be done for you based on automatic reporting to.

Re: Show HN: ustaxes.org – open-source tax filing webapp

#75

Post by timwis »

systemvoltage wrote: post #73
janwillemb wrote: post #26

In the Netherlands the tagline of the tax authorities used to be "we can't make it funnier, but we can make it easier". Most tax forms are online and pre-filled with data they already have. For most people it's probably a matter of minutes.

I prefer the US style actually. The government assumes flexibility, citizen’s responsibility and their ability to challenge their calculations / deductions by default . When that’s not the case, there is 1040-EZ [1] for people who want to simplify. 1040-EZ can be done in 10 mins max. I also enjoy filing taxes. It’s one of those things that allow you to reflect on your work, how you did, optimize the deductions, and g…

Don’t forget the state form that you have to do. Add that to your ten minutes and complexity rating.

Re: Show HN: ustaxes.org – open-source tax filing webapp

#76

Post by esturk »

baby wrote: post #22
suyash wrote: post #11

Ok how do you do state taxes in this? I don't see California option. Also no privacy policy on the hosted one, you really think people will trust giving their sensitive information like that?

Doesn't California have a free of charge webapp for doing your taxes?

Yes, it's called CalFile.

Re: Show HN: ustaxes.org – open-source tax filing webapp

#77

Post by matsemann »

llarsson wrote: post #19
vages wrote: post #15

Related fun (and sad) fact: In Norway, the tax submission forms are online and so user friendly that you don't need a tax filing program like this. Edit: Here is a link to an explanation for the form, in English, which was revamped in 2020: https://www.skatteetaten.no/en/person/taxes/tax-return/tax-r... The submission form is essentially a wizard that asks you questions related to your situation and your past year. D…

In Sweden, the employers are responsible for reporting your income and banks your profits on sales of stocks, funds, and real estate. So "doing your taxes" is, for most people, just logging in and saying "yes" to the computed value. You can even just send a text to do so.

Just to make it clear: It's the same in Norway as well. All banks, employers, brokers, etc report everything. So most of the numbers are prefilled, and if everything looks right you don't really have to do anything. What you mainly have to fix sometimes are some deductions not being applied automatically. And that's when this form comes into play. It's just a simple wizard making it easy to add these things.

Re: Show HN: ustaxes.org – open-source tax filing webapp

#78

Post by seszett »

vages wrote: post #67
benhurmarcel wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In France for example, when it's time to declare your income you receive an email (or a letter if you prefer). You log in with your fiscal number and password, and get an online form where you can declare any type of income. For most people, the numbers are pre-filled (communicated by the employer). You can modify them, check your bank account IBAN for paying/refunds, and validate. In Spain it's the same, except unfo…

Good on you! That sounds surprisingly modern compared to what I've heard about for example online banking in France from people who were exchange students there. From what I've heard, you have to show up physically for most bank stuff. Is that true? Disclaimer: I was told this by people who were exchange students there at least two years ago. Things may have changed and/or be different (i.e. harder) for foreigners.

> From what I've heard, you have to show up physically for most bank stuff. Is that true?

That was true until maybe 10 years ago? Today you can easily open an account online and never show up to a physical agency. If the bank you chose even has one.

But due to the way France works, with the different administrations forbidden from sharing information between each other and no central citizens repository, processes work on the customer themselves passing documents back and forth between the different administrations or companies, which makes it more difficult as a newcomer. Say, the bank will ask for a proof of identity and a proof of address, you have the proof of identity but the proof of address must come from an ISP or utilities company, which in turn requires a bank account. So you have to first find an ISP that will accept payment from your foreign account, etc.

It's different for example in Belgium, where once you're a resident all your information is there in a repository of the federal government and tied to your national number, so you don't need anything more than your identity card to sign up for a bank account. It's much easier but on the other hand, I don't really like having all my information in a single place like this, I just find it a bit unsettling that the police can look up your car's plate and call you on your cellphone to tell you that your car is badly parked.

Re: Show HN: ustaxes.org – open-source tax filing webapp

#79

Post by KirillPanov »

llarsson wrote: post #19
vages wrote: post #15

Related fun (and sad) fact: In Norway, the tax submission forms are online and so user friendly that you don't need a tax filing program like this. Edit: Here is a link to an explanation for the form, in English, which was revamped in 2020: https://www.skatteetaten.no/en/person/taxes/tax-return/tax-r... The submission form is essentially a wizard that asks you questions related to your situation and your past year. D…

In Sweden, the employers are responsible for reporting your income and banks your profits on sales of stocks, funds, and real estate. So "doing your taxes" is, for most people, just logging in and saying "yes" to the computed value. You can even just send a text to do so.

> just logging in and saying "yes" to the computed value

Holy crap, so if a h4x0r breaks into that website they can see the income and assets of every citizen of your country? That's nuts.

The IRS sucks, but believe it or not they're smart about keeping data secure. The massive mainframe into which all that employer-related data gets loaded is not web-connected.

In fact, not even IRS employees can access the data in there via the web. The only connectivity is through (fairly) dumb terminals with a chip-card slot. The chip-card signs each query before it's sent to the mainframe. Yank out the card and the terminal will cease to respond to your commands. The chip-card is also their employee badge.

Re: Show HN: ustaxes.org – open-source tax filing webapp

#80

Post by Stratoscope »

timoth3y wrote: post #60
timoth3y wrote: post #9

Thank you for starting this. It's something that needs to exit!

> exit! exist something that needs to exist. Not sure why I can't edit the original comment.

There is two hour edit window to edit a comment and it looks like you just missed it.

@dang if you happen to see this, I wonder if you may want to fix the typo and delete my followup comments?

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