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Tax filing really isn't painful in the U.S. for the vast majority of people. Saying that it is complex is the true lie. It takes like 5 minutes for most if all

Tax filing really isn't painful in the U.S. for the vast majority of people. Saying that it is complex is the true lie. It takes like 5 minutes for most if all you have is a W-2. It's also really cheap if not free.

jkaptur 5y ago
This is wrong for many reasons, but I'll just give one example: what if you're a gig worker? Here's some guidance: https://www.uber.com/us/en/drive/tax-information/ https://www.uber.com/us/en/drive/tax-information/
- deleted 5y ago
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Damogran6 5y ago
Or kids, or a house, or an. Electric car, or a 401k, or an HSA None of these are hard to track, but they’re more complications that take time to fill out in our current, broken, system.
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- sokoloff 5y ago
  I think 401K and HSA are pretty much automatically correctly handled on your W-2 statement. (The general point stands, but those two examples I think are seamless.)
  - Retric 5y ago
    401k has a lot of tax implications outside of just adding money in every year.
rrrrrrrrrrrryan 5y ago
> It takes like 5 minutes for most Average tax preparation time in the US is 175 minutes. > Tax filing really isn't painful in the U.S. for the vast majority of people You're probably referring to the fact that 36% of people itemized deductions in 2007, and only 10% itemized in 2020. But even taking the standard deduction, the process is still much more complex than it needs to be, and there are plenty of other factors that add additional complexity (e.g. gig work, home ownership, stock sales, etc.)
- nightski 5y ago
  Averages can be misleading, what is the median? I was obviously exaggerating with 5 minutes, but I doubt it is 175 minutes. I know I personally spend a lot more time than that but my situation is intentionally complicated.
  - beaconstudios 5y ago
    As an employee (currently) in the UK, I spend exactly 0 minutes preparing my taxes. I don't have to do it!
vlunkr 5y ago
It's simple once you've done it a few times and understand that there are probably only a few numbers you need to enter. For example, If you don't understand the difference itemized vs. standard deductions, you might waste hours hunting down medical bills only to find out it doesn't matter. Until you've got it down, there are a million variables and special cases to consider.

jkaptur 5y ago

This is wrong for many reasons, but I'll just give one example: what if you're a gig worker? Here's some guidance: https://www.uber.com/us/en/drive/tax-information/ https://www.uber.com/us/en/drive/tax-information/

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

Damogran6 5y ago

Or kids, or a house, or an. Electric car, or a 401k, or an HSA None of these are hard to track, but they’re more complications that take time to fill out in our current, broken, system.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
sokoloff 5y ago
I think 401K and HSA are pretty much automatically correctly handled on your W-2 statement. (The general point stands, but those two examples I think are seamless.)
- Retric 5y ago
  401k has a lot of tax implications outside of just adding money in every year.

rrrrrrrrrrrryan 5y ago

> It takes like 5 minutes for most Average tax preparation time in the US is 175 minutes. > Tax filing really isn't painful in the U.S. for the vast majority of people You're probably referring to the fact that 36% of people itemized deductions in 2007, and only 10% itemized in 2020. But even taking the standard deduction, the process is still much more complex than it needs to be, and there are plenty of other factors that add additional complexity (e.g. gig work, home ownership, stock sales, etc.)

nightski 5y ago
Averages can be misleading, what is the median? I was obviously exaggerating with 5 minutes, but I doubt it is 175 minutes. I know I personally spend a lot more time than that but my situation is intentionally complicated.
- beaconstudios 5y ago
  As an employee (currently) in the UK, I spend exactly 0 minutes preparing my taxes. I don't have to do it!

vlunkr 5y ago

It's simple once you've done it a few times and understand that there are probably only a few numbers you need to enter. For example, If you don't understand the difference itemized vs. standard deductions, you might waste hours hunting down medical bills only to find out it doesn't matter. Until you've got it down, there are a million variables and special cases to consider.