3 ms·

You seem to be confusing, gratis, and Taxpayer-funded.

• mhalle 10y ago
  The IRS is already essentially doing your taxes already (certainly for the most common and straightforward returns): they have to verify your statement. The actual computation is trivial (for them). "Doing your taxes" mostly involves showing you their calculations. It's almost a freedom of information issue. Compared to the cost of private prep and filing, it basically does seem free (gratis). And even if you choose to dispute or file independently, such a program could save each filer time and money by providing a base document; you would just provide diffs.
  • umanwizard 10y ago
    The IRS mostly just trusts what you tell them for a lot of stuff (like charitable donation amounts). This is why audits are a thing.