Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

washingtonpost.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

371–380 of 589 posts

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#371

Post by dopidopHN »

throwway120385 wrote: post #345
KyeRussell wrote: post #328

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here we go. American exceptionalism again. No surprise here. It isn’t done because your government is stupid and corrupt. Look at the myriad other examples of this happening in other countries.

Thanks. Glad to have this pat and reductive answer to all of our problems.

Right? Now that you know the answer, apply it to every problem where « but for us It’s different »

Gun control, ISP prices & availability, public transportation and in particular long range trains are the top of the list of those subjects.

At first it’s fun, then it’s anoying, then it’s sad.

Thougt & prayers ! It will get better, or at least you will know intrinsically that you exhausted all of the 1 solutions.

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#372

Post by maxerickson »

whimsicalism wrote: post #186
iends wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You broke the law if you sold crypto, regardless of amount.

Realistically what penalty do you think GP would face if they had failed to report those $15 in capital gains.

Sure, but that isn't what they are saying, they are saying that the tax code is that you report the gain.

I think most people don't report interest that is below the reporting threshold for the bank either. Doesn't change what the tax code says you are supposed to do.

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#373

Post by lizardking »

ShadowBanThis01 wrote: post #5

It is WAY past time for this. It's absurd that we have to regurgitate tax information that has already been reported to the government. But it's even more absurd that the government gives us no way to do so electronically. And then there's the disgusting shell game that IS the entire U.S. tax system, which is the root of the whole problem. But... didn't Congress pass some corrupt legislation years ago that made it il…

I wrote some tooling for one of the major tax preparation firms to import returns from our competitors into our system, so you wouldn’t be locked into one provider or another. It was a fun project, but it would be better if it wasn’t necessary!

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#374

Post by koolba »

petsfed wrote: post #311
koolba wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But I already feel that when I look at my paystub, or pay property taxes. Unless you’re cutting a check in person you’re arguably not feeling it as much as you should. It’s like how replacing cash toll booths with electronic debit hides the true price you’re paying on the highway.

I already feel it when I see the number every 2 weeks on my paycheck. Or when I'm advised of my property tax bill every 3 months. Or register a car. Or buy something at a physical store. Taxes are everywhere, and you have to work really hard to stay ignorant of how much they're taking out of your pocket. Literally all Norquist is doing is making it so for about 2 weeks a year, what little free time I have after the k…

> Speaking of toll booths vs electronic debit, when I lived in the Bay Area, I had to commute from east bay to west bay every day. For the first 4-5 months, I was paying cash, because in my scant spare time, I hadn't had time to get transponder and direct debit set up. I was paying $35/week. I didn't become less aware of that cost when I switched to the transponder, because the actual cost was time. Time is something I have very little of, so adding friction just wastes my most limited resource.

You just proved my point without even realizing it.

When you were forced to pay cash, they were forced to show you the price. You even remember the amount now, presumably years later. If they could have you pay cash without seeing the price I’m sure they would. If the price had changed from week to week, you’d immediately realize it because the amounts you’d interact with would change.

But that’s only possible with a purely digital system. As all the numbers happen behind the scenes.

Ask yourself this, why don’t any of those automated toll booths show the amount you “auto paid” rather than just “Ok!” Or “Paid!”? It’s because they explicitly do not want people to know what they are paying so they can raise the rates with minimal flak.

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#375

Post by prottog »

dopidopHN wrote: post #371
throwway120385 wrote: post #345

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks. Glad to have this pat and reductive answer to all of our problems.

Right? Now that you know the answer, apply it to every problem where « but for us It’s different » Gun control, ISP prices & availability, public transportation and in particular long range trains are the top of the list of those subjects. At first it’s fun, then it’s anoying, then it’s sad. Thougt & prayers ! It will get better, or at least you will know intrinsically that you exhausted all of the 1 solutions.

> Gun control

Sometimes the US truly is exceptional -- name another country that has more guns than people and, critically, enshrines private ownership of guns in its constitution.

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#376

Post by flagrant_taco »

sgerenser wrote: post #289
PopAlongKid wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Correction: "If you think you owe less or more due to details we don't have, feel free to file the old way"

I’d be happy with a system like this, as long as they made it very clear WHEN you should do it the old way. For example: “Our estimate of your income may be too high in certain situations, for example if you are a business owner, independent contractor, or receive income from RSU or ESPP sales where the tax basis reported to the IRS is missing or inaccurate. In those cases, you are encouraged to fill out your tax ret…

Simplifying the tax code would go a long way. We don't need to go all the way towards some flat consumption tax, simply eliminating tax deductions, credits, and write-offs would make calculating a person's tax burden much easier.

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#377

Post by prottog »

sneak wrote: post #315
BurningFrog wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're not exactly wrong, but I think that's true of most countries. We're just not aware of foreign dirty laundry, and as a tourist you'll not notice.

Most industrialized countries in northern or western Europe have most government systems that are an order of magnitude less absurd than the American equivalents.

France, one of the most emblematic Western European countries, has a proliferation of 49-employee companies because of a boatload of regulations that kicks in starting employee number 50. Some estimates see almost two and a half times as many companies with exactly 49 employees than with exactly 50. Now that's pretty absurd!

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#378

Post by prottog »

TheCondor wrote: post #316
ac29 wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Second, why do I need to give my employer my SSN and several forms of ID? This is almost certainly an immigration thing, not a tax thing. From I-9 is required to be completed by all employers. See: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-9...

Yeah, I think I know the reasons, or at least some of them. That particular idea might be a little bit more subversive but why does an employer need to care? Immigrant or natural born citizen, they should have some sort of tax paying relationship with the US federal government. The southern boarder is being used mostly just for politics right now, but if we wanted to curb illegal immigration I think a big part of it…

> why does an employer need to care?

The IRS certainly doesn't care whether you're working legally or illegally, as long as they get their share. The employer is mandated to care by immigration law, since it's against the law to hire someone who is not authorized to work in the US.

> we wanted to curb illegal immigration ... some sort of criminal penalties for hiring undocumented non-residents

This would certainly make a big impact.

> then some sort of "you're allowed to work here" token from the feds

It's called an Employement Authorization Document or EAD, issued by USCIS.

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#379

Post by refurb »

pstuart wrote: post #36
ShadowBanThis01 wrote: post #5

It is WAY past time for this. It's absurd that we have to regurgitate tax information that has already been reported to the government. But it's even more absurd that the government gives us no way to do so electronically. And then there's the disgusting shell game that IS the entire U.S. tax system, which is the root of the whole problem. But... didn't Congress pass some corrupt legislation years ago that made it il…

Check out Grover Norquist and his goals -- this tax hell is intentional.

Disagree. You don't need Grover to make US taxes overly complex and burdensome. Just look at some of the tax bills Democrats have sponsored - vague tax rules that the IRS is responsible for implementing (and often making their own decisions on how to implement).

Basically new tax rules are put into place with little regard on making them simple or including data collection as a part of the tax change.

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#380

Post by pclmulqdq »

kelnos wrote: post #370
pclmulqdq wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not really true. Itemized deductions are a small part of this, and so are the individual tax credits. Business accounting and post-tax investment are actually the big items here, and are impossible for the IRS to do for you. I'm afraid that if you get a stock grant from your employer, that puts you beyond where the IRS can send you a pre-filled form that is correct.

There's no reason why this has to be the case, though. Brokerages are already required to report lots of things about their clients to the IRS. No reason why "stock grant from employer" couldn't be one of them. (Regardless, these stock grants usually end up as W-2 income, so I'm not sure why you think this isn't covered already. Stock option grants often need some special handling, though.) In any case, most American…

The reason why this has to be the case in terms of brokerage accounting is that there are different ways to account for your purchases and sales of securities that can result in different levels of tax. Brokerages usually allow you to choose one on your 1099-B if you want (despite the fact that this may be hidden). You are only allowed to use one accounting method across all of your accounts. If you only have one brokerage account, they can make the tax-minimizing choice for you automatically, but if not, you have to make sure they use the same method.

Certainly stock grants end up as W-2 income, but unless you automatically sell all of them, your choice of accounting methods matters. Many people I know have at least 2, one for employment-related stock and the other for their own trading. You don't even need options to get an accounting problem.

Also, I think you have a very narrow view of who actually cares about special tax circumstances. Teachers have several special credits. So do students. So do people who save for retirement. Not to mention people who run a small business or a side hustle. This isn't a 10% situation, this is more like 30-50% in any given year, and almost nobody files a bog-standard return every year for their entire life.

It would be nice, however, if the IRS told you about all of the W-2s and 1099s they got before you had to file your taxes. The good news is that you can do this if you file for an extension on your taxes and check an obscure section of the IRS website - many accountants do it.

Post reply on HN