3 ms·

I don't see this working in the US without first simplifying the tax code. Right now if the government sent this out I would assume a majority of people would h

I don't see this working in the US without first simplifying the tax code. Right now if the government sent this out I would assume a majority of people would have some deduction they could take.

masklinn 11y ago
1. I was under the impression the vast majority only gets the standard deductions (which would probably be applied by default or something) 2. if the default doesn't match your status, you just change what you need to change and validate that
- johnward 11y ago
  I guess it would work for anyone who can file a 1040EZ. The rest of us will still be stuck doing the same old forms to fix what the government thought we owed.
- cmurf 11y ago
  Most people have multiple valid deductions, but they add up to less than the standard deduction. If all of them add up to be more than the standard deduction, you have to itemize all of them, which is a PITA, but if you don't do that then you're paying too much tax.
- sseagull 11y ago
  There are some deductions you can take in addition to the standard deduction (student loan interest, moving expenses, some education expenses, etc). These all change the adjusted gross income, from which the standard deduction (or itemized deduction) is subtracted. edit: I suppose some of this could be pre-computed if all the different companies sent the info to the IRS and states you lived in during the year. But that's probably too much work...
- brianwawok 11y ago
  A lot of people at least get student loan interest deduction (with all the college debt around), which I believe pushes out out of 1040EZ lane.
dragonwriter 11y ago
Many deductions have to be supported by forms that are already provided by third parties both to the taxpayer and to the IRS. There's no reason these couldn't be included in pre-computed taxes sent out to taxpayers. Its not done in the US because the makers of tax prep software and providers of tax prep services have lobbied against it the several times it has been proposed, and with a very substantial industry that is completely threatened, they have plenty of motivation to lobby hard.

I don't see this working in the US without first simplifying the tax code. Right now if the government sent this out I would assume a majority of people would have some deduction they could take.

masklinn 11y ago

1. I was under the impression the vast majority only gets the standard deductions (which would probably be applied by default or something) 2. if the default doesn't match your status, you just change what you need to change and validate that

johnward 11y ago
I guess it would work for anyone who can file a 1040EZ. The rest of us will still be stuck doing the same old forms to fix what the government thought we owed.
cmurf 11y ago
Most people have multiple valid deductions, but they add up to less than the standard deduction. If all of them add up to be more than the standard deduction, you have to itemize all of them, which is a PITA, but if you don't do that then you're paying too much tax.
sseagull 11y ago
There are some deductions you can take in addition to the standard deduction (student loan interest, moving expenses, some education expenses, etc). These all change the adjusted gross income, from which the standard deduction (or itemized deduction) is subtracted. edit: I suppose some of this could be pre-computed if all the different companies sent the info to the IRS and states you lived in during the year. But that's probably too much work...
brianwawok 11y ago
A lot of people at least get student loan interest deduction (with all the college debt around), which I believe pushes out out of 1040EZ lane.

dragonwriter 11y ago

Many deductions have to be supported by forms that are already provided by third parties both to the taxpayer and to the IRS. There's no reason these couldn't be included in pre-computed taxes sent out to taxpayers. Its not done in the US because the makers of tax prep software and providers of tax prep services have lobbied against it the several times it has been proposed, and with a very substantial industry that is completely threatened, they have plenty of motivation to lobby hard.