6 ms·

It's the wrong question too. Why do we have to file a tax return at all? Shouldn't the government be filing a tax return with us instead? Same answer of course

by qppo 6y ago

It's the wrong question too. Why do we have to file a tax return at all? Shouldn't the government be filing a tax return with us instead? Same answer of course.

koolba 6y ago
It’s also FUD about how complex, or really how simple, doing your own taxes can be. Filling out a 1040 for the overwhelmingly common situation of a single job is a cake walk. The vast majority of people would be taking the standard deduction now as well.
- sizzle 6y ago
  What about a mortgage in another state? This always trips me up.
- wrycoder 6y ago
  A paper 1040A would be faster than going through an online system for many. Just mail it in.
bityard 6y ago
They answer that in the NPR podcast the parent linked to. But it essentially boils down to the fact that taxes are constitutionally voluntary yet tax evasion is illegal.
- qppo 6y ago
  I'm no constitutional scholar but I don't think the IRS is constitutionally prohibited from sending me a filled out tax form and asking me if it's correct.
- dlgeek 6y ago
  Say what now? "The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several states, and without regard to any census or enumeration."
analog31 6y ago
They do anyway. One year, I must have screwed up my return, because I got a letter from the IRS saying: We think you screwed up, here's why, send us X amount, and we're good. Or you can file an amended return. I sent in X amount. We were good.
- cookiecaper 6y ago
  FYI those letters are, afaik at least, typically grossly overestimated. The number is meant to scare you into calling a CPA to straighten it out, essentially. So for anyone else with the same kind of letter, don't just pay unless you know that it's correct ahead of time.
  - analog31 6y ago
    Thanks for that tip. In our case, the error was due to a missing form, and when I corrected it in Turbo Tax, my number was close enough to the IRS number, so I called it a day.
  - int_19h 6y ago
    Note that this is a letter for an incorrect return, not an unfiled one. I had one of those, and it specifically identified the error. When I went and checked the paperwork, the figure in the letter was precisely correct.
    - beefield 6y ago
      So, a tax filing life hack: fill $1 to all fields of the form and wait IRS to tell how much you actually need to pay?

by qppo 6y ago

It's the wrong question too. Why do we have to file a tax return at all? Shouldn't the government be filing a tax return with us instead? Same answer of course.

koolba 6y ago

It’s also FUD about how complex, or really how simple, doing your own taxes can be. Filling out a 1040 for the overwhelmingly common situation of a single job is a cake walk. The vast majority of people would be taking the standard deduction now as well.

sizzle 6y ago
What about a mortgage in another state? This always trips me up.
wrycoder 6y ago
A paper 1040A would be faster than going through an online system for many. Just mail it in.

bityard 6y ago

They answer that in the NPR podcast the parent linked to. But it essentially boils down to the fact that taxes are constitutionally voluntary yet tax evasion is illegal.

qppo 6y ago
I'm no constitutional scholar but I don't think the IRS is constitutionally prohibited from sending me a filled out tax form and asking me if it's correct.
dlgeek 6y ago
Say what now? "The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several states, and without regard to any census or enumeration."

analog31 6y ago

They do anyway. One year, I must have screwed up my return, because I got a letter from the IRS saying: We think you screwed up, here's why, send us X amount, and we're good. Or you can file an amended return. I sent in X amount. We were good.

cookiecaper 6y ago
FYI those letters are, afaik at least, typically grossly overestimated. The number is meant to scare you into calling a CPA to straighten it out, essentially. So for anyone else with the same kind of letter, don't just pay unless you know that it's correct ahead of time.
- analog31 6y ago
  Thanks for that tip. In our case, the error was due to a missing form, and when I corrected it in Turbo Tax, my number was close enough to the IRS number, so I called it a day.
- int_19h 6y ago
  Note that this is a letter for an incorrect return, not an unfiled one. I had one of those, and it specifically identified the error. When I went and checked the paperwork, the figure in the letter was precisely correct.
  - beefield 6y ago
    So, a tax filing life hack: fill $1 to all fields of the form and wait IRS to tell how much you actually need to pay?