Misleading title here that differs from the title in the linked article - it’s a pilot in 13 states, not generally available.
[deleted]
Free IRS-run tax filing pilot to be available in 13 states
81–90 of 350 posts
Re: Free IRS-run tax filing pilot to be available in 13 states
#82The inflation reduction act is such a low key mvp of a bill. This is great
Re: Free IRS-run tax filing pilot to be available in 13 states
#83Before everyone gets too excited: This will probably only apply to simple tax situations: If you have more than these, you might not be able use it: #Income reporting W-2 wage income Social Security and railroad retirement income Unemployment compensation Interest of $1,500 or less #Credits Earned Income Tax Credit Child Tax Credit Credit for Other Dependents #Deductions Standard deduction Student loan interest Educa…
See, this is the thing that gets me. For almost anyone who fits in this box, you shouldn't have to file in the first place . Not "shouldn't have to pay", but literally, "should not have to send documents to the government telling them how much you owe them" - because they already have all of that information . They should just give you an itemized breakdown and ask if it's correct.
Yeah, this has been my frustration too; I got audited by the IRS in 2021 because I forgot to declare stock sales, and so I owe about $8,000: $7,000 for the missing taxes and a $1,000 fine.
I wasn't terribly mad about the money (if I owe $7,000 then that's what I owe, it was my fault), but what I was mad about was the fact that I had to do anything in 2021 at all. If the IRS knows enough to know what I owe them, then why exactly do I have to file, just to have them validate that the numbers I give them match the numbers that they have on file.
Re: Free IRS-run tax filing pilot to be available in 13 states
#84If an entire industry can be killed by a public service, it probably didn't deserve to exist in the first place.
Businesses will still need tax assistance. But there is no reason for a person whose income comes only from a salary, interest on savings and a brokerage account to need paid help to file taxes. The IRS already has all of the numbers. They could pre-fill the forms with those numbers and just have the taxpayer approve them.
The IRS processing of the data sent to them by various reporting requirements is much more like what we'd call "eventually consistent". If you ask for a transcript of your tax account ("what does the IRS know about my tax situation?") on April 15th and again 6 months later, the second report is very likely to be complete, while the first is not nearly as likely.
Re: Free IRS-run tax filing pilot to be available in 13 states
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
Generally speaking, if you are in a position where deductions and credits matter (ie. not standard deduction), you really aught to seek a professional to review your filing before submission, or at a minimum use two different softwares to compute your taxes and look for any disagreement (in theory, they should have the same output). Either way, the $49 to use the software is trivial (under this situation) and often i…
The model is that someone with a W-2 and a 1099 or two and just taking the standard deduction should be "Yep, looks OK." If it gets more complicated than that you probably need to either spend a bunch of your own time or hire a professional.
That's basically how the services work today for that segment of citizens, and they are free.
Re: Free IRS-run tax filing pilot to be available in 13 states
#86One thing I really want to see is an official form where if you answer all the questions, to the best of your knowledge correctly, protects you from liability for incorrectly filing your taxes. End of the day with TurboTax and co, you, as expected, get a "not our system, not our problem" type response when dealing with the post-filing ramifications. There seems to generally be a lot of "I'm not sure if I did it right…
Even if a CPA does your taxes, you still have to sign them. I think intuit offers some kind of service for audit protection post filing.
Re: Free IRS-run tax filing pilot to be available in 13 states
#87It's CPS time again. Related:
Tax prep companies: $90M lobbying against free tax-filing - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37363616 - Sept 2023 (231 comments)
IRS moves forward with a new free-file tax return system - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36804710 - July 2023 (221 comments)
IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35950836 - May 2023 (567 comments)
Call on the IRS to provide libre tax-filing software - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35705469 - April 2023 (129 comments)
60M Americans have taxes so simple the IRS could do them automatically - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35476709 - April 2023 (277 comments)
Lobbyists begin chipping away at Biden’s $80B IRS overhaul - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35381701 - March 2023 (214 comments)
Intuit pouring money into lobbying amid push for free government-run tax filing - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34840039 - Feb 2023 (178 comments)
IRS builds task force to explore running its own free e-file system - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34764952 - Feb 2023 (199 comments)
IRS Free File: Do Your Taxes for Free - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34462122 - Jan 2023 (247 comments)
IRS will look into setting up a free e-filing system - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32753099 - Sept 2022 (408 comments)
The IRS could be on the verge of changing the way Americans file their taxes - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32550841 - Aug 2022 (17 comments)
IRS will study free tax filing options - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32502321 - Aug 2022 (25 comments)
TurboTax’s fight against free tax filing - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31072202 - April 2022 (394 comments)
Filing taxes could be free & simple. H&R Block & Intuit lobby against it (2017) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30856968 - March 2022 (114 comments)
FTC sues Intuit for its deceptive TurboTax “free” filing campaign - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30846071 - March 2022 (587 comments)
Ask HN: How does TurboTax get away with dark patterns? - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30409523 - Feb 2022 (122 comments)
Why do Americans have to pay much to file their tax returns when the IRS knows? - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30267361 - Feb 2022 (22 comments)
Filing Taxes Could Be Free and Simple. But H&R Block and Intuit Lobby Against It (2017) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30185484 - Feb 2022 (18 comments)
California tried to save the nation from tax filing, then Intuit stepped in - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28944200 - Oct 2021 (283 comments)
The IRS has a big opportunity to fix the way Americans file taxes - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28177289 - Aug 2021 (12 comments)
--
Re: Free IRS-run tax filing pilot to be available in 13 states
#88Before everyone gets too excited: This will probably only apply to simple tax situations: If you have more than these, you might not be able use it: #Income reporting W-2 wage income Social Security and railroad retirement income Unemployment compensation Interest of $1,500 or less #Credits Earned Income Tax Credit Child Tax Credit Credit for Other Dependents #Deductions Standard deduction Student loan interest Educa…
On the other hand, that's a whole lot of people -- probably almost everyone who is not a homeowner, and quite a few who are.
That list suggests that if you have a 1099 (which I assume is most people with meaningful savings), you probably won't qualify.
Re: Free IRS-run tax filing pilot to be available in 13 states
#89Doesn't change much. I still need to pay my CPA thousands to prepare the tax return.
Re: Free IRS-run tax filing pilot to be available in 13 states
#90If an entire industry can be killed by a public service, it probably didn't deserve to exist in the first place.
Enriching oneself at the cost of others really seems like the business modus operandi in the USA these days. It is a win, although only a beginning of what should come.