151–160 of 256 posts
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Which forms have been driving the need for that? I'm assuming you've tried and found lacking the standard tax software recommendations among expats.
Why is custom software necessary at all? In the Philippines, if you are registered with eFPS, and have an account in one of the accredited banks, nothing is needed except a web browser.
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The IRS is not actually a godly being that has omniscient knowledge of every transaction that ever goes on and in the future. How is the IRS supposed to figure out how much money to take away from your W2 when you could get a billion dollar windfall at the end of the year and massively change tax bracket?
By following the model that Spain and other countries follow: take the information they know (which is basically everything since anything meaningful is reported), calculate it, send you what they think you owe, and you either pay it as is or you file taxes manually.
I had a friend who barely filled out a 1040, sent it in and the IRS sent back a “corrected” 1040.
Of course I wouldn’t trust the IRSs numbers but if you pay it, you’re done.
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At what point is it recommended to not use a software like freetaxusa? I've been using it for years.
I volunteer with VITA and do taxes a lot but not a full time accountant. I've been doing my own taxes for years. I would say you need your own accountant and not software if: 1) You have complexities involving trusts/inheritance 2) Anything involving crypto (this is just a grey area to me and things change) 3) Anything that sounds more complex than anything above. If you're getting a bunch of 1099-DIVs/INT & W2/W9s i…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
By following the model that Spain and other countries follow: take the information they know (which is basically everything since anything meaningful is reported), calculate it, send you what they think you owe, and you either pay it as is or you file taxes manually.
Considering they basically do this for the simplest tax forms: why are we supposed to assume Spain has a better system again? Is this just the typical “European = better” stance so prevalent online?
Yes and is often the case, fully justified.
When it's the time to file taxes, you go to a government website that tells you all it knows about you - inheritances, donations, salaries, etc etc. You can add stuff if you want (e.g. special deductions), but for most people it's a matter of next next OK Finished. On a government website everyone knows (that send you a letter/email to remind you it's time), for free, and works for everyone regardless of complexity. Contrast that with the US where tou have to provide all the information yourself, but first you have to find filing software that you sometimes have to pay for (either because of your situation or because you were tricked by dark patterns).
It's honestly weird. Nobody likes taxes, that's why they should be as easy as possible to file and pay. The American model of adding middlemen for their benefit is going directly against that for no good reason.
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Being a US citizen abroad. I’m in this situation and have had to pay huge sums to accountants If anyone has any recommendations I’m all ears
Which forms have been driving the need for that? I'm assuming you've tried and found lacking the standard tax software recommendations among expats.
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Being a US citizen abroad. I’m in this situation and have had to pay huge sums to accountants If anyone has any recommendations I’m all ears
How much are you paying? I have a good accountant that does my ex-pat taxes for $250
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Except in the US you still have to file your taxes. They might be the simplest to do, but you still have to. Which typically means people end up using turbotax etc, and paying for the product. Spain's equivalent is basically 'we know you have a kid and this income so here you so. just sign on the dotted line'
In the US you do not need to file if you are confident you don’t owe the IRS money, or if they owe you money and you don’t want the hassle to get it back. If you are able to setup withholdings to exactly match what you owe there is no reason to file. I have skipped filing a few times.
This reminds me it's time to start looking for the TurboTax torrent. The activation scheme is remarkably straightforward to crack yourself.
Submitting your most sensitive financial information into a cracked and pirated piece of software…
…is likely more security-conscious than doing it using the Official Licensed Software, given how valuable financial information is and how easy it is for a program that Officially Doesn't call home with it to send it all back home. As long as you're sufficiently thorough about the cracking, of course.