Any recommendations on how to really file taxes for free (federal and state)?
Cash App Taxes. Free federal and state.
Hrm. How do they make money?
FTC bans TurboTax from advertising 'free' services, calls deceptive advertising
151–160 of 268 posts
Re: FTC bans TurboTax from advertising 'free' services, calls deceptive advertising
#152I just saw an TurboTax Ad where a guy was like "I Like free stuff" and then it said he was "happy to read the disclaimer" on TurboTax and see that "Roughly 37% of taxpayers qualify" which he looks thoughtfully in the distance and says "Thats me!" I thought it was a funny commercial because 37% doesn't seem like a lot and Turbotax is portraying it as the average person will identify themselves as part of that 37% even…
That is… unsettling.
Re: FTC bans TurboTax from advertising 'free' services, calls deceptive advertising
#153Earlier quoted context omitted.
TurboTax is marketing to the kind of people who think getting big refunds is a good thing. That's generally people with lower incomes, so this fits that target.
It is generally a good thing for folks who live paycheck to paycheck. Higher withholding forces more budgeting, and then they get a big paycheck once a year to pay off whatever
People who live paycheck to paycheck are very good at budgeting because they have to do it to survive, they don't need any more pressure. If anything it's richer people that could use a little prodding, but either way we don't need the government to be withholding extra money from people it thinks might have bad habits.
> they get a big paycheck once a year to pay off whatever
If you have something big to pay off, you usually need to do it right away. You probably can't afford to wait however many months until you get your refund.
Re: FTC bans TurboTax from advertising 'free' services, calls deceptive advertising
#154I just saw an TurboTax Ad where a guy was like "I Like free stuff" and then it said he was "happy to read the disclaimer" on TurboTax and see that "Roughly 37% of taxpayers qualify" which he looks thoughtfully in the distance and says "Thats me!" I thought it was a funny commercial because 37% doesn't seem like a lot and Turbotax is portraying it as the average person will identify themselves as part of that 37% even…
I agree on every level, but I'm compelled to remind you this is the America where wendy's (?) had to revert to a 1/4 pounder from a 1/3 pounder bc people thought they were getting less meat. And let's not forget the ever-present anti-education cohort that can't be convinced math is good even when you tell them it's how you calculate discounts or tips.
It's also important to take any corporation's explanation for increasing their own margins with an extremely large grain of salt. I'm not doubting in the slightest that consumers had some confusion around the fractions, but all it would take for the company to revert their campaign is for the increase in sales to insufficiently offset the increase in their own costs. Blaming it on consumer stupidity afterwards washes their hands of any responsibility for backpedaling, and makes for a memorable and repeatable story that increases brand recognition while simultaneously painting them as heroically trying to offer more value for the same cost.
Re: FTC bans TurboTax from advertising 'free' services, calls deceptive advertising
#155Earlier quoted context omitted.
TurboTax is marketing to the kind of people who think getting big refunds is a good thing. That's generally people with lower incomes, so this fits that target.
I think there's some segment of folks that get snatched up into the weird false pretense that a modern day turbotax filing is less than (at worst, once one factors personal time cost in) a decent tax person even at one of the, shall we say, 'established turn and burns'[0] That said, TurboTax did hit a specific level of 'eww' when I started seeing the refund option of a debit card (of course for some stupid fee that,…
If you have simple taxes, FreeTaxUsa.com.
Not shady, neither is it free, but about as close as you can get AFAIK for online filing. For what it is (a web forms app, with careful explainers), it's pretty good!
I've used tax pros and honestly, my finances are not complex enough to get a good benefit off the extra cost. I used H&R block one year, and really didn't think they knew any more about tax filing than I did. They got confused at all the same line items I did.
Re: FTC bans TurboTax from advertising 'free' services, calls deceptive advertising
#156Earlier quoted context omitted.
One third times one fifth loses a lot of folks. As does addition and subtraction of fractions that don’t start with the same denominator, for that matter. They might figure out what to do to pass the test, but they may not get it .
Fractions are just division. When kids learn division, it's about splitting into equal groups. Fractions are a bit different though - you're splitting a single thing into equal chunks. Hence, slices of pie. Multiplying by 1/5 is really dividing by 5. Introduce that first. We already know how to do this. You split your 1/3 slice into 5 equal slices. Do the same to the other 2/3 slices, count all the slices, and you ha…
There's a difference in type of thinking in moving from operations on numbers (basic whole number math) to operations-on-operations-on-numbers (anything with fractions).
Suddenly, you need to begin to understand the rules around operators, sequencing, and what operations are legal and illegal.
Absent that understanding, even...
1/4 x 2/5
So it's the point at which math becomes "pure" rather than strictly physically-mapped.
Re: FTC bans TurboTax from advertising 'free' services, calls deceptive advertising
#157Earlier quoted context omitted.
It is generally a good thing for folks who live paycheck to paycheck. Higher withholding forces more budgeting, and then they get a big paycheck once a year to pay off whatever
People who live paycheck to paycheck are very good at budgeting because they have to do it to survive, they don't need any more pressure. If anything it's richer people that could use a little prodding, but either way we don't need the government to be withholding extra money from people it thinks might have bad habits. > they get a big paycheck once a year to pay off whatever If you have something big to pay off, yo…
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Re: FTC bans TurboTax from advertising 'free' services, calls deceptive advertising
#158Earlier quoted context omitted.
It is generally a good thing for folks who live paycheck to paycheck. Higher withholding forces more budgeting, and then they get a big paycheck once a year to pay off whatever
People who live paycheck to paycheck are very good at budgeting because they have to do it to survive, they don't need any more pressure. If anything it's richer people that could use a little prodding, but either way we don't need the government to be withholding extra money from people it thinks might have bad habits. > they get a big paycheck once a year to pay off whatever If you have something big to pay off, yo…
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Re: FTC bans TurboTax from advertising 'free' services, calls deceptive advertising
#159Earlier quoted context omitted.
Could you say more about the "self filing app"? A quick Google search didn't turn up anything (which probably says more about my current lack of sleep than anything :) )
https://www.irs.gov/about-irs/strategic-plan/direct-file Not to be confused with IRS Free File
Thank you for the link.
I found the Free File thing but it didn't quite sound like what you were talking about :)
Re: FTC bans TurboTax from advertising 'free' services, calls deceptive advertising
#160Earlier quoted context omitted.
People who live paycheck to paycheck are very good at budgeting because they have to do it to survive, they don't need any more pressure. If anything it's richer people that could use a little prodding, but either way we don't need the government to be withholding extra money from people it thinks might have bad habits. > they get a big paycheck once a year to pay off whatever If you have something big to pay off, yo…
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you made an account just to talk shit about the poor?