Reasons for difficulties filing US taxes

Subject: Reasons for difficulties filing US taxes
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Apr 22 - 01:03 PM

Listening to Rachel Maddow last night talk about how H&R Block and Intuit and other companies have a stranglehold on the tax preparation packages, it became clear that this is another thing in the US heavily influenced by lobbying efforts. The Internal Revenue Service could have years ago made tax filing much simpler, because they already have much of the information we are forced to document each year. They could just send out a statement saying "do these numbers look right?" since they already have the information we received on W-2 and 1099 forms.

TurboTax and H&R Block have spent years making Tax Day miserable. This topic has come up annually; I can't find the Maddow essay on video from last night, but an essay from last year by her colleague Hayes Brown says pretty much the same thing.

So other countries don't have to do the paper shuffle every year? I don't use a tax preparation package, I do the math then file using Free Fillable Forms (via the IRS). But it appears it could be a lot easier. Now who is going to face down the big companies that own the tax software?

Subject: RE: Reasons for difficulties filing US taxes
From: meself
Date: 13 Apr 22 - 01:09 PM

Rest assured, we have to do 'the paper shuffle' in Canada, too. In fact, I'm on here putting it off right now ... !

Subject: RE: Reasons for difficulties filing US taxes
From: leeneia
Date: 13 Apr 22 - 01:55 PM

The IRS get minimal funding and is operating on outdated computers. Several years ago I read an article in a respectable magazine about an IRS regional center that had rats and mice running around. If you are looking for an overhaul, don't look to an agency that can barely keep its head above water.

I agree with your low opinion of Turbotax.

Subject: RE: Reasons for difficulties filing US taxes
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Apr 22 - 02:47 PM

Biden has an $80 billion proposal to upgrade the IRS over the next 10 years. Let's see what happens in Congress.

Subject: RE: Reasons for difficulties filing US taxes
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 14 Apr 22 - 05:00 PM

Strange, we have an excellent tax return filing system in the UK!!!

Subject: RE: Reasons for difficulties filing US taxes
From: Jeri
Date: 14 Apr 22 - 07:22 PM

it used to take me a half hour to 45 minutes to do it on paper. This years, it took 2+ hours spread out over 2 days (because I wanted to throw my computer out a window) to do it on TurboTax. I've used that for the past 5-ish years, because I couldn't figure out how to get the forms any more. But it got more complicated this year, and they always find sneaky ways of getting you to pay for stuff you don't need/want.

Subject: RE: Reasons for difficulties filing US taxes
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Apr 22 - 09:28 PM

Go to https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions and query the system for the various 1040 forms and schedules and instructions. I save them in a folder each year to print out and fill out with pencil. Once I'm satisfied I've got the figuring right I go to Free Fillable Forms to set up an account (you need a new on every year, but you can use exactly the same logon and password, etc, as previous years) and enter my information. After every few entries go to the bottom and click "do the math."

Subject: RE: Reasons for difficulties filing US taxes
From: Jeri
Date: 14 Apr 22 - 09:52 PM

If I had a printer... (I know - I can print them at Staples or somewhere.)

Subject: RE: Reasons for difficulties filing US taxes
From: Joe Offer
Date: 15 Apr 22 - 02:56 AM

I gotta say, Donny Trump did something good for me. His tax bill doubled the standard deduction. Since I have my mortgage paid, there's little chance I'll ever have enough deductions to have to itemize. So I can enter the information from my 1099s and submit, and my taxes are done in less than an hour. Yeah, I bite the bullet and pay TurboTax plus the extra fee for state filing, but I get my refund in less than a week. I enter the information into the forms and bypass all the stupid questions TurboTax wants to ask me.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: Reasons for difficulties filing US taxes
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Apr 22 - 11:10 AM

Joe, I used the free fillable forms from IRS and I'm also getting my refund next Monday. A week. I didn't pay anyone. In the past when I tried using the commercial tax forms they didn't get everything right, so I skipped it and went back to doing my taxes myself, loading documents, reading the instructions, etc.

Trump managed to wipe out my various itemizable deductions with his tax plan. Small mortgage holders weren't grateful for his meddling.

I am guessing these tax prep software programs come out of huge corporations, so it won't be easy to put them out of business. But it needs to be done.

Subject: RE: Reasons for difficulties filing US taxes
From: pattyClink
Date: 16 Apr 22 - 11:53 AM

This year was fairly quick compared to the wild frustration of years past. The system is still insane, but yes, a few improvements came via Trump's tweaks.

This year I skipped even the fillable forms, and just got the paper forms at a library. Did one scratch copy, one fair copy, done. No hassling with software, online filing, or learning a new library's printout method.

It REALLY helps to keep a file every year with notes on which forms you used, calculations and results, problems, workarounds. Label it with the year filed, then pull it out next year as a cheat sheet.

Subject: RE: Reasons for difficulties filing US taxes
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Apr 22 - 05:42 PM

Sending a return on paper means that someone at the IRS will have to do data entry of all of your information into a fillable form before they can begin to see if it is correct. There is a backlog going back to last year's returns. I can't find the story I heard on the radio last week that talked in depth about this.

Filing it online meant a return was approved and the refund paid within 2 weeks. Free fillable forms work well, but you do have to figure them out ahead on paper to have all of the numbers ready to plug into the lines (and added forms).

Subject: RE: Reasons for difficulties filing US taxes
From: pattyClink
Date: 19 Apr 22 - 10:03 AM

Yes, everyone knows that's how you get an early refund. If you're not getting one, then the only goal is to get it your forms in by the deadline, with a minimum of cost and grief. We at least can each choose our methodology, for now. Dreading the day when we all must use one mandated and buggy uber-app for this process.

As for the backlog, happy to contribute to that if it helps shame the gubmint into giving the IRS adequate funding some day. I do not feel I owe them any free data entry work.

Subject: RE: Reasons for difficulties filing US taxes
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Apr 22 - 11:32 AM

I guess the only reason to hurry it along is if you have a refund coming!

The IRS has been underfunded for years and if that agency is repaired one hopes they go for the big bucks that the gazillionaires have managed to dodge paying. If they knock out some of the competition I won't mind, and CPAs probably wouldn't mind. So many things in government need to be repaired, though, that I'm not holding my breath.

Subject: RE: Reasons for difficulties filing US taxes
From: DaveRo
Date: 05 May 22 - 02:31 AM

TurboTax to pay $141m to settle claims it scammed millions of people

Subject: RE: Reasons for difficulties filing US taxes
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 May 22 - 12:17 PM

I have to hunt around for a link to the story but yesterday I read about how the IRS isn't enforcing the laws to do with dark money going into political campaigns and how they're not looking into the infractions of non-profit groups that by their nature aren't supposed to be participating in political speech. The reason they get a tax break to begin with.

It will take adequately funding the IRS but also renewing the charge they operate under. (And get rid of that damned Citizens United situation).