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Claiming high user satisfaction, IRS will decide on renewing free tax site

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Claiming high user satisfaction, IRS will decide on renewing free tax site

#31

Post by loeg »

nkrisc wrote: post #24
tmountain wrote: post #8

It’s amazing that 54% of adults in the United States have a literacy below 6th grade level, but it is expected for the same population to have the financial literacy to file their taxes accurately. Going further, the IRS already knows the details of most people’s taxes before they file, yet everyone is expected to complete what amounts to a complex task for many people. I cannot fathom why it is still done this way.

It’s amazing how much of an idiot I felt like when we hired a babysitter for two days a week for about a year and then it came time to do things properly regarding taxes and her wages. I understand why it’s important to do it properly (for the employee’s benefit) but when I tried to look into what we had to do, as technically her employer, and it was nearly impossible for me to figure out what we had to do and then h…

Highly recommend a payroll service for this, like Poppins. It costs like $50/mo for a single employee, which is rounding error on nanny wages, and they do all the withholding and state tax filing for you. Then give you instructions on how to fill out federal tax Schedule H on your personal taxes (1040).

I did it manually the first time around and it was a pain in the ass.

Re: Claiming high user satisfaction, IRS will decide on renewing free tax site

#32

Post by neltnerb »

nkrisc wrote: post #24
tmountain wrote: post #8

It’s amazing that 54% of adults in the United States have a literacy below 6th grade level, but it is expected for the same population to have the financial literacy to file their taxes accurately. Going further, the IRS already knows the details of most people’s taxes before they file, yet everyone is expected to complete what amounts to a complex task for many people. I cannot fathom why it is still done this way.

It’s amazing how much of an idiot I felt like when we hired a babysitter for two days a week for about a year and then it came time to do things properly regarding taxes and her wages. I understand why it’s important to do it properly (for the employee’s benefit) but when I tried to look into what we had to do, as technically her employer, and it was nearly impossible for me to figure out what we had to do and then h…

Out of curiosity, what made it difficult?

Not knowing what was required for sure? Figuring out how to fill out the 1099-MISC? Knowing how to file it with the IRS/state?

I remember it being a bit tricky at first but once I knew the right form it only took a few minutes. The hard part for me is keeping track of rule changes.

Payroll service works though =)

Re: Claiming high user satisfaction, IRS will decide on renewing free tax site

#33

Post by Tempest1981 »

nkrisc wrote: post #24
tmountain wrote: post #8

It’s amazing that 54% of adults in the United States have a literacy below 6th grade level, but it is expected for the same population to have the financial literacy to file their taxes accurately. Going further, the IRS already knows the details of most people’s taxes before they file, yet everyone is expected to complete what amounts to a complex task for many people. I cannot fathom why it is still done this way.

It’s amazing how much of an idiot I felt like when we hired a babysitter for two days a week for about a year and then it came time to do things properly regarding taxes and her wages. I understand why it’s important to do it properly (for the employee’s benefit) but when I tried to look into what we had to do, as technically her employer, and it was nearly impossible for me to figure out what we had to do and then h…

Yep, there's a thriving industry around nanny payroll services, if you don't want to become an accountant. Wish the common use-cases were streamlined for DIYers.

Maybe Congress can work on this next.

Re: Claiming high user satisfaction, IRS will decide on renewing free tax site

#34

Post by loeg »

bobthepanda wrote: post #15
tmountain wrote: post #8

It’s amazing that 54% of adults in the United States have a literacy below 6th grade level, but it is expected for the same population to have the financial literacy to file their taxes accurately. Going further, the IRS already knows the details of most people’s taxes before they file, yet everyone is expected to complete what amounts to a complex task for many people. I cannot fathom why it is still done this way.

The anti tax republicans believe that if Americans had an easier time filling their taxes then they would have less objections to the same or higher level of taxation. https://www.npr.org/2013/03/26/175332655/what-would-the-u-s-...

They're probably right about that?

Re: Claiming high user satisfaction, IRS will decide on renewing free tax site

#35

Post by tomrod »

SV_BubbleTime wrote: post #19
jrockway wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it is expected for the same population to have the financial literacy to file their taxes accurately I assume most people have too much money taken out of their paycheck for taxes, so the net result is that the government takes in extra money.

Agreed, this is not a problem they want to solve.

Sure "they" do.

Re: Claiming high user satisfaction, IRS will decide on renewing free tax site

#36

Post by willcipriano »

nneonneo wrote: post #2

I did my Canadian taxes for me and my spouse on a free filing site last night, in less than two hours, for $0. Everything was prefilled; practically the only thing I had to fix was to convert an imported investment statement from USD to CAD, and double check that everything was accurate. I welcome the Americans to the delightful convenience of hassle-free taxes!

> less than two hours

> hassle-free taxes

That's still a crazy demand on the time of someone paying for everything. My bank, my employer and my brokerage all report on me, the IRS should be able to just mail a check or a bill most of the time.

Re: Claiming high user satisfaction, IRS will decide on renewing free tax site

#37

Post by loeg »

bradley13 wrote: post #17
monero-xmr wrote: post #11

Most Americans don’t do their own taxes. They go to H&R Block or Jackson Hewitt, and if your family makes under $60k you are almost certainly paying no income taxes and are receiving a refund via the EITC, getting a check back. So people think tax preparers are voodoo priests that do their incantations to get free money because the average person can’t understand the jargon, can’t handle forms, and the whole endeavor…

Just a minor comment, but: why does EITC exist? Just a hidden welfare payment? That out if the way, I agree with the earlier comment: why does the government automatically know all your financial details? Where is the privacy? Where is the requirement for a warrant, to access your private information?

I don't think EITC is hidden? It's just a subsidy for families.

Re: Claiming high user satisfaction, IRS will decide on renewing free tax site

#38

Post by loeg »

jimbob45 wrote: post #25
kelthuzad wrote: post #3

wait until turbo tax comes in hot with their lobbying efforts - didn't they manage to prevent or diminish a free tax filing service already a few years ago?

I like TurboTax. It just works, year after year. The fee is worth the peace of mind that I wouldn’t have by letting a government program lose my submission accidentally.

I switched from TurboTax to FreeTaxUSA this year and it was almost exactly the same (in some ways easier). The amount owed was identical. The IRS doesn't lose submissions and provides a very clear system for tracking the status of eFiled taxes.

Re: Claiming high user satisfaction, IRS will decide on renewing free tax site

#39

Post by akira2501 »

janalsncm wrote: post #18
thegrim33 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess it was originally done this way because in the past people actually had some semblance of privacy and the government didn't actually know a great deal about people's income. Eventually, privacy was eroded away year after year to the point where the government now knows an extreme amount about each citizen. I guess I'd refrain the question - instead of asking why do we need to do taxes when the government know…

Liberty and privacy are fashionable. The problem is that our Congress passes hundreds of pages of domestic spying legislation in the middle of the night. It’s not exactly the School House Rock democratic process we learned about in 4th grade. But that’s really beside the point. If you are like millions of other Americans filing W2s, the fact that you work for your employer isn’t a secret. Your salary isn’t a secret.…

> the fact that you work for your employer isn’t a secret

I would prefer if it was. It's even worse than that, the government has entitled itself to be a party to every transaction over $600, so even the self employed have to shoulder this unseemly burden.

> Your salary isn’t a secret

It is. It's a shared secret. Again, I would prefer if I didn't have to do this. My salary is not at all the same as my "taxable income." It puts me in a position to have to justify my filings after the fact to an entity that only has access to half my relevant information.

Re: Claiming high user satisfaction, IRS will decide on renewing free tax site

#40

Post by worik »

tmountain wrote: post #8

It’s amazing that 54% of adults in the United States have a literacy below 6th grade level, but it is expected for the same population to have the financial literacy to file their taxes accurately. Going further, the IRS already knows the details of most people’s taxes before they file, yet everyone is expected to complete what amounts to a complex task for many people. I cannot fathom why it is still done this way.

> It’s amazing that 54% of adults in the United States have a literacy below 6th grade level, but...

Stop there! Really? "6th grade" is age eleven?

That is mind blowing!

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