Even as a full-time college student, I've used a professional, and I'm glad I did. He did things as straightforward as claiming relevant education credits to more esoteric such as maximizing refunds around housing stipends for summer internships. I didn't have to do much else other than reach out to my accountant and provide a W2.
A housing stipend is taxable, unless you are staying at a work location for your employer's convenience. But yes, Accountants can help you evade taxes in ways unlikely to be audited or caught.
It's fully within the bounds of tax law, something which I (and my accountant) made very clear I want to stay within. Our tax code is a joke, yes, and in need of actual reform, but this itself doesn't put me in any legal grey area whatsoever.
I used to say turbo tax wasn't that bad, and that free filing was easy if you just ignored their promises to save you money if you upgraded. Last year however I got all the way to the end of the process where they revealed I made too much and had to pay. That felt extremely unethical, as the information required to come to that conclusion was available far earlier in the process. And yet what am I going to do but use…
>And yet what am I going to do but use turbo tax again. The perceived risk and effort of using a non-automated system to fill them out doesn't seem worth the cost. I'd suggest FreeTaxUSA.com as an alternative. Federal is always free, and state taxes are ~12/state. I don't have anything obscure about my taxes, and their forms indicate they can handle much more complicated situations than I have. I've used them for 3 y…
> I'd suggest FreeTaxUSA.com as an alternative.
LOL I just tried to sign up and they rejected me because my personal email is on a .ch domain:
The Email Address can't be a foreign email address ending with .ch.
Here in Sweden I go to the tax office website, log in, have a brief look at that all my salary has been correctly entered (I have yet to encounter that it hasn't) add if I possibly want to deduct some extra things (also very uncomplicated), go to file and click send (the whole thing can even be done on mobile) . The process typically takes 20min max, Australia was quite similar. I'm always amazed by tax systems which…
If your taxes are easy in Sweden / Australia they would be easy in the US.
All the Americans I know who have moved to Australia rave about how much easier their tax is here.
Every year I do my taxes on H&R Block or one of the others right up to the point where I review the form and the next step is to submit. Then I write all the numbers down and file for free on Free File Fillable Forms. https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/free-file-fillable-form... Thanks H&R!
what about state taxes? is there a state level Free File Fillable form?
Depends on the state, check your state's tax website.
I used to say turbo tax wasn't that bad, and that free filing was easy if you just ignored their promises to save you money if you upgraded. Last year however I got all the way to the end of the process where they revealed I made too much and had to pay. That felt extremely unethical, as the information required to come to that conclusion was available far earlier in the process. And yet what am I going to do but use…
>And yet what am I going to do but use turbo tax again. The perceived risk and effort of using a non-automated system to fill them out doesn't seem worth the cost. I'd suggest FreeTaxUSA.com as an alternative. Federal is always free, and state taxes are ~12/state. I don't have anything obscure about my taxes, and their forms indicate they can handle much more complicated situations than I have. I've used them for 3 y…
+1 for them. I live in one of the few states with no state tax, so its totally free to file. They do ask if you want to pay, its only if you want some audit protection, and live support.
I used to say turbo tax wasn't that bad, and that free filing was easy if you just ignored their promises to save you money if you upgraded. Last year however I got all the way to the end of the process where they revealed I made too much and had to pay. That felt extremely unethical, as the information required to come to that conclusion was available far earlier in the process. And yet what am I going to do but use…
>And yet what am I going to do but use turbo tax again. The perceived risk and effort of using a non-automated system to fill them out doesn't seem worth the cost. I'd suggest FreeTaxUSA.com as an alternative. Federal is always free, and state taxes are ~12/state. I don't have anything obscure about my taxes, and their forms indicate they can handle much more complicated situations than I have. I've used them for 3 y…
They are great! Use them every year. TurboTax is a scam in comparison. Use code FREETAXUSA10 to get 10% off that already-cheap state filing (federal is free).
Here in Sweden I go to the tax office website, log in, have a brief look at that all my salary has been correctly entered (I have yet to encounter that it hasn't) add if I possibly want to deduct some extra things (also very uncomplicated), go to file and click send (the whole thing can even be done on mobile) . The process typically takes 20min max, Australia was quite similar. I'm always amazed by tax systems which…
If all your taxes are just wages then you just fill out a two page form (1040). Literally just copy a couple of numbers from your w2 and you’re good. The problem is if you have non-salary sources of income (eg stock, non-employee compensation, etc) then things can rapidly become very complicated.
You're right, but I think cycomanic has a point. Why do you even have to fill out the 1040? Why isn't there a default option where you can review tax forms that have already been filled out with the the information the IRS has already received?
"There is no reason, with the advent of internet and databases, that 90% of people’s taxes can’t be completely automated." This is an area where there could be a lot of improvement. Many people work at least partially as a contractor and have to self-report and make payments. The self-reporting and making payments is where a lot of the problems start with automation. Employees? Mostly solved except for where people d…
> Loopholes are often deliberate ways of encouraging behavior with money. I don’t buy this. There is an easy way to encourage behavior with money. Give people money in exchange for the behavior. If the goal is to encourage someone to buy a house, then pay them to buy a house. The reason politicians don’t do this is because this lays bare all the costs associated with the incentive. Whereas with tax loopholes, they ca…
Two thoughts without getting into the morality or ethics of existing law: The legal standard for giving money is different than taking money. A tax incentive that is legal (i.e. mortgage interest deduction) would be illegal as a giveaway (giving money to only taxpayers with mortgages) as it would fail equal protection under the law. Second, often times tax incentives help avoid having the government use taxpayers as the bank. For example, if I take deductions for my dependents on my w-2, I have less money taken out of my paycheck. The other way around, no loopholes, would a) discourage having dependents and b) would force me to act as the bank for the government.
>And yet what am I going to do but use turbo tax again. The perceived risk and effort of using a non-automated system to fill them out doesn't seem worth the cost. I'd suggest FreeTaxUSA.com as an alternative. Federal is always free, and state taxes are ~12/state. I don't have anything obscure about my taxes, and their forms indicate they can handle much more complicated situations than I have. I've used them for 3 y…
> I'd suggest FreeTaxUSA.com as an alternative. LOL I just tried to sign up and they rejected me because my personal email is on a .ch domain: The Email Address can't be a foreign email address ending with .ch. Wowwwwww.
And yet US citizens resident abroad still have to file US taxes, even if they are dual citizens and have never lived in the US.