4 ms·

Most of the rest of the world does this. If you only have W-2 or 1099 income, the government already has all of the data necessary to complete your taxes using

by ghouse 8y ago

Most of the rest of the world does this. If you only have W-2 or 1099 income, the government already has all of the data necessary to complete your taxes using standard deductions. If you have other income, itemize, or have other circumstances, you can continue doing your taxes as is. It is curious that some proponents (in the US) of lowering taxes intentionally make taxes more complicated so as to make people more opposed to taxes in general.

testvox 8y ago
Which proponents are you talking about? Usually one of the talking points on tax "reform" is that the tax code is too complicated and reform is needed to make compliance easier.
repiret 8y ago
If by 1099 you mean 1099-MISC, which is what I think most people mean when they say "1099 income" without an additional qualifier, then the IRS almost certainly has no idea what detections are available to you, and there may be taxable things that they don't know about either.
- s73v3r_ 8y ago
  I'm willing that in the vast majority of cases they do, and the small minority of cases where they don't isn't a good enough reason to not do this. Especially because, if you do fall into that case, you can just file your taxes as normal.
  - repiret 8y ago
    If you get a 1099-MISC, you need to file Schedule C [1]. They can make a guess at line 1 based on the 1099-MISC, but none of the other lines come with a counter party filing forms with the IRS to give them hints. I agree that most people who don't need to file Schedule C, who don't have investment gains or losses outside of tax sheltered accounts, and who don't pay for childcare while they work (Form 2441), and who don't have miscellaneous deductions (which include medical expenses and unreimbursed employee expenses if they exceed 2% of your income) could have the IRS correctly fill out their taxes for them. And thats a lot of people, and the IRS should do it. But the parent comment said "If you only have W-2 or 1099 income, the government already has all of the data," and my point is that unless they mean something weird by "1099 income," then thats wrong. [1]: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040sc.pdf https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040sc.pdf
- ghouse 8y ago
  I mean 1099-INT, 1099-DIV, and 1099-B. The 1099-MISC for consultants, as you point out, introduces additional complexities.

by ghouse 8y ago

testvox 8y ago

Which proponents are you talking about? Usually one of the talking points on tax "reform" is that the tax code is too complicated and reform is needed to make compliance easier.

repiret 8y ago

If by 1099 you mean 1099-MISC, which is what I think most people mean when they say "1099 income" without an additional qualifier, then the IRS almost certainly has no idea what detections are available to you, and there may be taxable things that they don't know about either.

s73v3r_ 8y ago
I'm willing that in the vast majority of cases they do, and the small minority of cases where they don't isn't a good enough reason to not do this. Especially because, if you do fall into that case, you can just file your taxes as normal.
- repiret 8y ago
  If you get a 1099-MISC, you need to file Schedule C [1]. They can make a guess at line 1 based on the 1099-MISC, but none of the other lines come with a counter party filing forms with the IRS to give them hints. I agree that most people who don't need to file Schedule C, who don't have investment gains or losses outside of tax sheltered accounts, and who don't pay for childcare while they work (Form 2441), and who don't have miscellaneous deductions (which include medical expenses and unreimbursed employee expenses if they exceed 2% of your income) could have the IRS correctly fill out their taxes for them. And thats a lot of people, and the IRS should do it. But the parent comment said "If you only have W-2 or 1099 income, the government already has all of the data," and my point is that unless they mean something weird by "1099 income," then thats wrong. [1]: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040sc.pdf https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040sc.pdf
ghouse 8y ago
I mean 1099-INT, 1099-DIV, and 1099-B. The 1099-MISC for consultants, as you point out, introduces additional complexities.