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Direct File won't happen in 2026, IRS tells states

nextgov.com

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Re: Direct File won't happen in 2026, IRS tells states

#221

Post by mindslight »

superxpro12 wrote: post #186
ryandvm wrote: post #179

Citizens United. The decision that remorseless, logistical apparitions, that exist only to make money should have the same rights as US citizens was the single most destructive court decision in the last 50 years.

Yeah this needs to be the left wing "abortion" fight. Something we need to fight for 50 years before its finally overturned. Dont stop talking about it.

The problem is that Citizens United directly derives from a few straightforward concepts that are much more entrenched. The summary that "corporations are people" is kind of a misframing that makes you think the decision could have easily gone the other way, but that refrain is actually disempowering because there isn't much that could be changed at this level of abstraction.

This is a better exploration of what needs to happen: https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-corporate-power... ( I found this article via HN https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45317731 )

Re: Direct File won't happen in 2026, IRS tells states

#222

Post by Dylan16807 »

drysine wrote: post #212
array_key_first wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

America is colloquially the USA. The Americas is something else. South America is something else. North America is something else.

That time has passed.

Now you have me really curious. When did "that time" start, and when did it end?

Re: Direct File won't happen in 2026, IRS tells states

#223

Post by Dylan16807 »

ryandrake wrote: post #190
toolazytologin wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or “politics” are too much of their identity and they always vote for “their guy” regardless of the merits. Education does not matter when the vote has nothing to so with rationality and is only rooting for a team. Corruption will never be solved. It could possibly be reduced if there was less ROI. I expect that would require shrinking the government so there is less centralized power. A limited federal government an…

Too many people treat politics like sports fandom. I know people whose political views are the exact opposite of Party X, but if you ask them, they will tell you they will always vote for Party X, because they were born and raised an X, and stick by their team no matter what they do. They're like fucking Eagles fans. They have this weird "team loyalty" that I just don't get.

> Too many people treat politics like sports fandom. I know people whose political views are the exact opposite of Party X, but if you ask them, they will tell you they will always vote for Party X, because they were born and raised an X, and stick by their team no matter what they do.

This part makes enough sense.

> They're like fucking Eagles fans.

Now you've gone and implied 95% of sports fans aren't that way?? I don't understand your argument any more.

Re: Direct File won't happen in 2026, IRS tells states

#224

Post by fragmede »

isleyaardvark wrote: post #187
Amezarak wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't have to pay. https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/free-file-fillable-form... As for "having most of your tax information", they don't. They know your reported income. You see that on your W2s/1099s/etc. What they don't know is whether or not you had a kid this year, or whether you lost a kid this year, whether you got married or divorced, if your spouse is claiming the kids this year or not, the number or a…

Do these other countries described above know whether you had a kid or got divorced?

Even the US knows that you've had a qualifying event, they're just being stubborn.

Re: Direct File won't happen in 2026, IRS tells states

#225

Post by dpark »

Amezarak wrote: post #220
BrandoElFollito wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In France the web site asks you if your household details changed. No? 2 more clicks and you are done. Yes? 2 + nr of changes clicks and you are done. Took me an extra 5 seconds when my son left. You can make your taxes as complcated as you want but for 95% of the population foling taxes takes a few minutes.

Filing a 1040 in the US is also very easy and takes a few minutes and can be done for free. Another factor most people are ignoring is that state taxes are filed at the same time and each state has its own separate system. These third parties let you fill in and file both at the same time. It would be nice if the US gov did this too but it requires a total restructuring of the American system, and Intuit’s lobbying h…

> Filing a 1040 in the US is also very easy

Not for most people. It’s a giant pain in the ass if you have bank accounts and want to file correctly.

If all you do is plug in your w-2 and pretend that’s your whole tax return and you don’t care about anything except the standard deduction, sure. That’s not correct for most people.

> state taxes are filed at the same time and each state has its own separate system

Can we stop pretending like this is a problem insurmountable for the federal government?

This idea that TurboTax can make this work but the government can’t is absurd.

Re: Direct File won't happen in 2026, IRS tells states

#226

Post by fragmede »

tietjens wrote: post #79
foxglacier wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't America have uniquely complicated tax that requires you to keep all your receipts to claim all sorts of confusing deductions? How can the IRS know what you spent your income on if you don't tell them? I've had the misfortune of having to fill in a W8-BEN-E form [1] and the first time, I just gave up and refused to work with the client because it was too complicated. The 2nd time, I got an LLM to tell me how t…

For a truly uniquely complicated tax system please move to Germany.

Why stop there? If you reside in multiple countries, then it really gets fun.

Re: Direct File won't happen in 2026, IRS tells states

#227

Post by ryandrake »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #223
ryandrake wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Too many people treat politics like sports fandom. I know people whose political views are the exact opposite of Party X, but if you ask them, they will tell you they will always vote for Party X, because they were born and raised an X, and stick by their team no matter what they do. They're like fucking Eagles fans. They have this weird "team loyalty" that I just don't get.

> Too many people treat politics like sports fandom. I know people whose political views are the exact opposite of Party X, but if you ask them, they will tell you they will always vote for Party X, because they were born and raised an X, and stick by their team no matter what they do. This part makes enough sense. > They're like fucking Eagles fans. Now you've gone and implied 95% of sports fans aren't that way?? I…

Haha every Eagles fan I know is ride or die.

Re: Direct File won't happen in 2026, IRS tells states

#228

Post by fragmede »

RajT88 wrote: post #172
Thorrez wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

RSUs are not straightforward: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43676698 And options are worse.

All right, I guess I see your point. If you company doesn't handle the complexity, it can be a nightmare. Where I've worked, they withhold the necessary number of shares from RSU's and it just gets taxed as W-2 income. Then, it shows up with the taxed cost basis in Fidelity so you don't get double taxed when selling shares. It doesn't appear like they have to factor in travel into that equation - that's only for your…

AMT

Re: Direct File won't happen in 2026, IRS tells states

#229

Post by dpark »

Amezarak wrote: post #219
dpark wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Oh sure, but it’s difficult for me to feel very passionate about it. Just passionate enough to say that everyone unhappy with Intuit lobbying against free tax filing and simplified tax codes doesn’t understand? > As mentioned in sibling posts, the IRS does NOT have the information it needs to get even close on your taxes. They know your reported income. They do not know your marital status, how you’re going to file…

People want simplified tax codes only in principle. Everyone has a deduction or credit they will fight to defend.

I’m not entirely sure what your point is. You say you don’t care about this but seem very invested in defending Intuit’s lobbying.

You also seem to be simultaneously claiming that the US tax system is too complex for the government to feasibly automate and that filing taxes is trivial.

Either you hold contradictory viewpoints here or you have some undisclosed interest in this area.

Re: Direct File won't happen in 2026, IRS tells states

#230

Post by fragmede »

ryandrake wrote: post #189
ethbr1 wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. Tax complexity drives the CPA / tax prep need. That said, there is a huge swath of America that's being preyed on by strip-mall tax prep, who derive zero benefit from it. (And an industry whose profits ultimately trickle up to the tax prep software companies)

I was blown away when I learned one of my wife's friends, who has a single W2 and some bank interest, pays H&R Block every year to file her taxes! No stocks or rental income or IRAs or anything else that could complicate things. But still she, and millions of Americans, pay these companies to fill out what amounts to a single form. Eye opening.

Just like every other company, HR block sells emotions, not a product. The two emotions are: not getting in trouble with the IRS, and getting a good deal (with whatever advantage the HR block employee can find applies to you). Maybe also not having the stress of having to learn how to do your taxes. (WTF is an AMT?)
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