They’ve actually been trying to do this for years. There were actually a couple years of tests out in California I think. However, there are two big lobbies that always put a halt to it, tax preparation services (H&R Block, Intuit, etc.) and groups that want taxes to be a pain in the ass so we’ll all bitch about them.
Check out this episode of Planet Money if you want to learn more:
TLDR: Our government is for sale and two corporations apparently give instructions to the entire IRS and tax system because they pay a “subscription fee” to our politicians.
I’ve been using the Cash App one and it’s totally free. It was formerly Credit Karma’s before TurboTax bought them and they were forced to divest the free tax program. I usually will run the same numbers through TurboTax and the results end up being the same.
Protip: just fill out the paperwork! It walks you through it and takes no more time than making a pathfinder character. Tbh the whole act of doing it reminds me of making a ttrpg character: you get a template sheet and a booklet that walks you through it.
if the free ones would automatically populate for free I would totally use them just to not do the data input. But since they are all bs and don’t actually do it for free I do the free fillable forms. Real pro tip is use a spreadsheet to add things up for wierd forms that don’t do stuff for you. I put my 1099’s in a spreadsheet and copied and pasted from it and it just made the whole thing easier to look over and verify. will do the same anytime I have multiples of the same form and then also for things like ira nonfillable pdf.
I should be able to just stuff what I think is the right amount of gold coins in an envelope and label it “to IRS” and they can figure out if I need another coin or two.
And then I get one thing wrong and get a bill years later that I can’t fight with interest payments or they cut out the middleman and just email my employer and demand they take it out of my pay.
They’ve actually been trying to do this for years. There were actually a couple years of tests out in California I think. However, there are two big lobbies that always put a halt to it, tax preparation services (H&R Block, Intuit, etc.) and groups that want taxes to be a pain in the ass so we’ll all bitch about them.
Check out this episode of Planet Money if you want to learn more:
Planet Money - Tax Hero
TLDR: Our government is for sale and two corporations apparently give instructions to the entire IRS and tax system because they pay a “subscription fee” to our politicians.
All as designed by the supreme court.
.
Pro tip: use Taxslayer
I love them. Much better than Turbohax
I’ve been using the Cash App one and it’s totally free. It was formerly Credit Karma’s before TurboTax bought them and they were forced to divest the free tax program. I usually will run the same numbers through TurboTax and the results end up being the same.
Anything but the big guys
Protip: just fill out the paperwork! It walks you through it and takes no more time than making a pathfinder character. Tbh the whole act of doing it reminds me of making a ttrpg character: you get a template sheet and a booklet that walks you through it.
if the free ones would automatically populate for free I would totally use them just to not do the data input. But since they are all bs and don’t actually do it for free I do the free fillable forms. Real pro tip is use a spreadsheet to add things up for wierd forms that don’t do stuff for you. I put my 1099’s in a spreadsheet and copied and pasted from it and it just made the whole thing easier to look over and verify. will do the same anytime I have multiples of the same form and then also for things like ira nonfillable pdf.
So you’re the kind of person who enjoys filling out the paper registration for a product warranty, I suspect.
Nope, but I do enjoy a good character sheet.
nah no ty, ill have them auto-input for me with an upload. Im already doing their job theyd have to do in modern countries
The stakes are a bit higher compared to D&D.
I should be able to just stuff what I think is the right amount of gold coins in an envelope and label it “to IRS” and they can figure out if I need another coin or two.
Yes, but all you have to do is follow the guide? It literally took 15 min to do my taxes this year.
And then I get one thing wrong and get a bill years later that I can’t fight with interest payments or they cut out the middleman and just email my employer and demand they take it out of my pay.
Damn the TurboTax propaganda goes strong here.
That wasn’t my point at all. I want the IRS to do my taxes for me.
Well the first step is removing Big Tax Collectors from the equation, which was my goal with the original post.