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

washingtonpost.com

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

#401

Post by jwestbury »

rapht wrote: post #224
lr1970 wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Yeah the American system absurd. “We have all the data but you still need to figure it out yourself and if you get it wrong you’ll get in trouble”. IRS knows all the income data only in simple cases like salaried employees with W-2 forms. If you are business owner or contractor the things can be more complicated and what IRS really knows is a guessing game. IRS is posturing and bluffing that they know everything an…

> IRS knows all the income data only in simple cases like salaried employees with W-2 forms. If you are business owner or contractor the things can be more complicated If you already can avoid the trouble for 50% (?) of the people who are in the standard case, it's already a massive win.

I moved to the UK last year from the US. Over here, you only file your own taxes if your income is over 100k GBP -- which is probably a reasonably simple proxy for "your tax situation might be more complicated." No doubt it has edge cases, but it's a nice sorting mechanism for the majority of cases.

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

#402

Post by jwestbury »

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.

I'm a recent immigrant to the UK from the US, and by way of example, I was really looking forward to being out of the American medical system. Then I discovered that the way you make a doctor's appointment over here is that you log into their website or call them at exactly 8am and hope you beat out the other people also trying to get an appointment for that day. Of course, the appointment will likely be just a phone call as triage, and then they'll sort out an in-person appointment -- but good luck if you can't use your phone at work for whatever reason!

What I'm saying here is: Until you've lived in a country, you probably don't know the absurdities of their own system.

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

#403

Post by sgerenser »

unmole wrote: post #399
sgerenser wrote: post #366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s often the case that you sell a block of RSU stock, and the broker reports the entire sale as a capital gain (e.g. if you sell $50K, then it shows up as a $50K capital gain on your broker’s 1099). But in reality, the gain should only be the difference between the price it was when it showed up in your account and when you sold it (which can actually be a loss), because the basis is already included in your W-2 as…

E-Trade and Fidelity report gains correctly. Which broker doesn't?

My recollection is they report it on a “supplemental information” form, not directly on the 1099. If you just do a naive import in TurboTax or similar, you’ll overpay your taxes by thousands.

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

#404

Post by namrog84 »

thechao wrote: post #202
gowld wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can it import and parse documents from banks / investments? That's the most important part.

Does this work for you? TurboTax has a 100% chance of either: (1) not working; or, (2) completely hosing my filing.

I did both freetaxusa and TurboTax and all the errors came from the supposed smart input things from turbotax.

It almost seems like its doing some pdf scan with errors underneath when i dont trust it anymore. Maybe 1 day when they have proper api read access or something.

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

#406

Post by flagrant_taco »

pfannkuchen wrote: post #394
flagrant_taco wrote: post #376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Don’t deductions, credits, etc allow the government to incentivize citizens to behave in certain ways? Are you implying that it shouldn’t be in the business of incentivizing behavior?

Well yes, I would absolutely say the federal government shouldn't be in the business of manipulating markets and consumer behavior. That was never part of our government design in the first place, unless you consider dealing with interstate commerce disputes to fall under that umbrella.

Practically though, our tX system and economy is much too complicated to be able to accurately say whether incentives through deductions and credits are a net positive. We can say how expensive they are, but how do we measure the value added by pushing consumers in one direction or another? And if we can't measure its value should the government have that authority?

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

#407

Post by [deleted] »

jcranmer wrote: post #235
elicash wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 16th Amendment allows for an income tax: > The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

Actually, it doesn't: Congress already had the power to levy income taxes. The power to levy an income tax predates the 16th Amendment. What the 16th Amendment did was to explicitly overturn the Pollock SCOTUS decision, which said that a tax on rental income is basically a tax on property, and a tax on property is a direct tax which requires specifically apportionment among the states per the Constitution.

[deleted]

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

#408

Post by petsfed »

koolba wrote: post #374
petsfed wrote: post #311

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 had to look it up, since it'd been several years since I drove past the BIG FUCKING SIGNS that tell you how much the toll is, indicate that you only get a discount if you're carpooling, and that you need the transponder for that discount. Have you actually been through the toll plaza I referenced? In addition to the sign (that is posted before the last exit before the toll plaza, so you can bail if you don't have the cash), there's also a digital display at the cash booths, to indicate how much it costs.

If the intent was to get us paying without realizing, they'd add additional incentives (like discounts) to getting the transponder than the fact that its simply (and obviously) faster.

You're constructing this straw man where the price at the register is murky and ill-defined, and if only we could remove the smoke screen, people would see how much money they're losing to taxes. But the reality is that anti-tax folks are the ones making it difficult to understand the price at the register, as it pertains to income taxes. There's quite the conversation to be had about the murkiness of appropriations, certainly. But adding friction to the tax return process doesn't make me want to call my congressman about where my taxes are going, but instead to ask why a senator in Wyoming or Texas is so excited to bend over backwards to protect the business interests of a company based in Mountain View, California, at the expense of all of their constituents?!

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

#409

Post by dopidopHN »

prottog wrote: post #375
dopidopHN wrote: post #371

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You are right, it’s truly unique. Nothing else that worked elsewhere will work. Thought and prayers!

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

#410

Post by cdelsolar »

Aperocky wrote: post #250
cdelsolar wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yeah it's insane. This past tax cycle, we filed and overpaid by like 3K, using Turbo Tax. Of course Turbo Tax didn't tell us this, and we wouldn't have known except we got a check for the overpayment from the govt about a week or two later!

How? Was it Form-1099K mis-ingestion from turbotax? Or is it some other hole?

Our taxes are complicated. We employed a nanny this past year which somehow made our tax due jump up by over 3K. I assume this was a mistake in TurboTax?
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