> Sure, but for something that applies to 30% of people, they could either ask you if that situation applies to you and then ask you to fill in the info. Yes,

> Sure, but for something that applies to 30% of people, they could either ask you if that situation applies to you and then ask you to fill in the info. Yes, I'm aware. (That's even the argument you're responding to…) The point is that there are several credits and deductions; some with with P(it applies to me) of ~30%. The point is not P(a given deduction applies to me), but P(any deduction applies to me), and that that probability, I think, is fairly high. To say "yeah but most people can take the standard deduction" is a true statement, but it ignores where the complexity of taxes is. (Heck, I took the standard deduction, and again, there is information required for taxes that is known to all the relevant authorities — just not me, at least not via any official means. If it's input to the tax code, it should be given a Box on a tax form, a the very least.)