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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

#501

Post by joshstrange »

ed25519FUUU wrote: post #437
ck2 wrote: post #433

Wait until ChatGPT is doing tax returns. Until some lobbyists bribe congress to ban that.

There’s absolutely zero chance I would trust chatGPT to file my taxes right now

That's fair, though ChatGPT did better than my googling in trying to figure out what I need to file for my LLC.

> Kentucky Single Member Limited Liability Company Income Tax Return: As a sole proprietorship LLC, your business income and expenses are reported on your personal tax return (Form 1040), Schedule C. However, Kentucky requires you to file a separate state tax return for your LLC income. You will need to complete and file the Kentucky Single Member Limited Liability Company Income Tax Return (Form 720S) along with your personal tax return.

It's wrong, I needed to use form 725 since 720S is for an s-corp but it might have pointed me in the right direction. Instead I paid a couple hundred dollars to H&R Block and they messed up a handful of my forms and told me to "use whiteout" to remove the incorrect phone number and address they put on the form (725) and I also had to mail it in (they sent in my state/federal taxes). They said there wasn't a way to e-file 725, not sure if they were right.

This year I'm just going to get an accountant (I was in a rush for my 2022 taxes).

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

#502

Post by renlo »

digging wrote: post #489
latchkey wrote: post #471

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know in Vietnam, they kind of do this too. Employers pay employee tax directly from the paychecks and it is based on salary. So a lot of the companies report that their employees make less, or they pay the employee part of their salary in cash (if it a cash business). I'm curious how you know they aren't cheating you somehow? Also, how could their numbers be off (high/low)? In the US, there are all sorts of 'deduct…

> I'm curious how you know they aren't cheating you somehow? How do we know that now, in the US? I don't know the details of tax calculations; I get money deducted from my paychecks, I pay a website so I can copy information from many confusing forms onto one confusing form, and then I get some money. It's inscrutable to most people. And frankly, the for-profit system is currently cheating us, so...

I think PP is saying that the government won't know what deductions to give you if it's a "one-click file" system. Sounds like the proposed solution by the IRS won't be a one-click file system, but something like TurboTax where the filer can elect their own deductions.

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

#503

Post by throwaway4220 »

digging wrote: post #480
RajT88 wrote: post #445

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On some counts, he is not wrong. It will cost taxpayers billions of dollars. Those billions of dollars will be well spent, and may be a net 0 cost for taxpayers after the savings on eFiling. This is a revocation of the license to print money by the tax prep industry.

I am always intensely skeptical of the phrase "cost the taxpayers" when presented as a pure loss. It is almost always the opposite. It's like saying "Exercise costs a person energy and nutrients." Well, no shit, but you get more value out of it than you input in the form of burned calories and muscle strain.

Really well put. It costs the taxpayers trillions of dollars to support the United States.

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

#504

Post by whiplash451 »

I live in EU, and it still beats me that the U.S. IRS still hasn't developed its own software for filing taxes.

This should be the only entry point IMO.

In my country:

1. our IRS owns the software 2. the forms are pre-filled with all the data they already have about me 3. they send me an email if they spot an error (both ways)

I could not imagine it differently.

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

#505

Post by riazrizvi »

rocketbop wrote: post #424

> A direct-to-IRS e-file system is wholly redundant and is nothing more than a solution in search of a problem," said Rick Heineman, a spokesman for Intuit, the company behind TurboTax. "That solution will unnecessarily cost taxpayers billions of dollars and especially harm the most vulnerable Americans." Extraordinary that he could say that sentence with what I assume was a straight face.

Straight face? Easy. Everyone has to pay the rent, this guy is no exception.

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

#506

Post by Cerium »

RajT88 wrote: post #445
rocketbop wrote: post #424

> A direct-to-IRS e-file system is wholly redundant and is nothing more than a solution in search of a problem," said Rick Heineman, a spokesman for Intuit, the company behind TurboTax. "That solution will unnecessarily cost taxpayers billions of dollars and especially harm the most vulnerable Americans." Extraordinary that he could say that sentence with what I assume was a straight face.

On some counts, he is not wrong. It will cost taxpayers billions of dollars. Those billions of dollars will be well spent, and may be a net 0 cost for taxpayers after the savings on eFiling. This is a revocation of the license to print money by the tax prep industry.

Of course it will cost the taxpayers, that is the point right? I'm tired of paying out of pocket and would rather pay with my tax dollars which I will be paying regardless.

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

#507

Post by npteljes »

amelius wrote: post #439
opzz wrote: post #425

They should open source this. I would actually contribute to making this usable.

Makes you wonder why there wasn't an open source tool for this to begin with. Why did nobody feel the urge to make this?

They didn't feel the urge for needless responsibility, is what first comes to my mind. Many open source tools, like GNU grep that I just checked, contain text that points out that they take 0 responsibility for the correctness of the software. In case of a serious thing like taxes, this is even more important.

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

#509

Post by bell-cot »

smeagull wrote: post #456
mperham wrote: post #426

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's NPR, gotta give both sides equal time.

That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard.

"Dial up the stupid" is probably NPR's S.O.P. for politically contentious news.

I recall hearing them do a news story ~~15 years ago, where "balanced" coverage was "Democratic spokesman says 2 + 2 = 3, Republican spokesman says 2 + 2 = 5". No hint from the NPR reporter that something else might be the correct answer to "2 + 2 = ?". Let alone dropping a hint as to what that right answer was.

I didn't bother listening to NPR News (nor donating to them) after that.

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

#510

Post by wl »

RajT88 wrote: post #445
rocketbop wrote: post #424

> A direct-to-IRS e-file system is wholly redundant and is nothing more than a solution in search of a problem," said Rick Heineman, a spokesman for Intuit, the company behind TurboTax. "That solution will unnecessarily cost taxpayers billions of dollars and especially harm the most vulnerable Americans." Extraordinary that he could say that sentence with what I assume was a straight face.

On some counts, he is not wrong. It will cost taxpayers billions of dollars. Those billions of dollars will be well spent, and may be a net 0 cost for taxpayers after the savings on eFiling. This is a revocation of the license to print money by the tax prep industry.

He's probably making the claim that his software, similar software, and tax preparers will find more deductions than the IRS system and cost taxpayers billions in lost refunds they're entitled to. Actually creating this system isn't going to cost billions of dollars.
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