IRS Free File: Do Your Taxes for Free
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Re: IRS Free File: Do Your Taxes for Free
#2Remember H&R Block, TurboTax, etc have all been caught tricking people into paying for free services, so watch out when using them if you are expecting free filing.
Of course, this doesn't change the US Tax code being intentionally designed to be easy to make errors that can lead to significant fines.
Re: IRS Free File: Do Your Taxes for Free
#3What's the reasoning for setting the AGI at $73,000 or less? Does it go up as inflation goes up?
Why not set it at $100,000 or $500,000?
Re: IRS Free File: Do Your Taxes for Free
#4What's the reasoning for setting the AGI at $73,000 or less? Does it go up as inflation goes up? Why not set it at $100,000 or $500,000?
I'm guessing tax preparation companies don't make a lot of money off those filers anyways. But if you start taking away the more expensive customers, i.e. the business owners, investors, etc... then it becomes a problem. Lobbying basically.
Re: IRS Free File: Do Your Taxes for Free
#5Remember H&R Block, TurboTax, etc have all been caught tricking people into paying for free services, so watch out when using them if you are expecting free filing. Of course, this doesn't change the US Tax code being intentionally designed to be easy to make errors that can lead to significant fines.
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Re: IRS Free File: Do Your Taxes for Free
#6Remember H&R Block, TurboTax, etc have all been caught tricking people into paying for free services, so watch out when using them if you are expecting free filing. Of course, this doesn't change the US Tax code being intentionally designed to be easy to make errors that can lead to significant fines.
Yes, they lobby for convoluted tax code so they can sell software.
The reason I would go with a company rather than the free IRS stuff is because they offer audit protection and representation.
Re: IRS Free File: Do Your Taxes for Free
#7I tried the fillable forms in previous years. They certainly aren’t easy and don’t make you confident you are filing an accurate form. Paying $50-100 to save a few hours and a lot of worrying is well worth it to me, even if along the way I bemoan the complexity and inaccessibility of the current tax system.
Re: IRS Free File: Do Your Taxes for Free
#8What's the reasoning for setting the AGI at $73,000 or less? Does it go up as inflation goes up? Why not set it at $100,000 or $500,000?
Note, anyone regardless of AGI can use https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/free-file-fillable-form...
It fails on some really specific use cases, but it works for the vast majority.
Re: IRS Free File: Do Your Taxes for Free
#9I tried the fillable forms in previous years. They certainly aren’t easy and don’t make you confident you are filing an accurate form. Paying $50-100 to save a few hours and a lot of worrying is well worth it to me, even if along the way I bemoan the complexity and inaccessibility of the current tax system.
I'm not going to claim they are easy, but they are accurate (they have a Do The Math calculation button). Even if you mess up, the IRS will typically send you a response noting where their calculations diverged from yours and offer to automatically adjust. (Which denotes the absurdity of this exercise for most taxpayers because the IRS already has all the information it needs to complete your taxes).
Re: IRS Free File: Do Your Taxes for Free
#10Why do I even have to do anything? Just take it from my paycheck directly