5 ms·

One thing I really want to see is an official form where if you answer all the questions, to the best of your knowledge correctly, protects you from liability f

One thing I really want to see is an official form where if you answer all the questions, to the best of your knowledge correctly, protects you from liability for incorrectly filing your taxes. End of the day with TurboTax and co, you, as expected, get a "not our system, not our problem" type response when dealing with the post-filing ramifications. There seems to generally be a lot of "I'm not sure if I did it right" anxiety in the general population.

hiatus 3y ago
Even if a CPA does your taxes, you still have to sign them. I think intuit offers some kind of service for audit protection post filing.
TylerE 3y ago
It could be so much easier. In most of Europe "filing" your taxes involves getting a short letter essentially saying you made $x, and <owe/are owed> $y, with short return forms to either agree, or file an appeal.
- davchana 3y ago
  Every time this comment is posted about non usa geographic area, somebody will post, but in US you have deductions, allowance, dividend, smaller profits, gifts. Which for sure all other countries too have, and somehow they have sorted this out. I think its the lobbying and the general mistrust of government "telling" a number vs calculating the number yourself. (Although if that is a wrong number, government/IRS tells the correct number).
OkayPhysicist 3y ago
If you make a good faith attempt at filing your taxes, you won't need liability protection. If you screw it up, you'll get a (relatively) polite message from the IRS that your taxes were screwy and you owe them money (or, occasionally, they owe you money).
Anechoic 3y ago
protects you from liability for incorrectly filing your taxes. In practice, it's not really needed. The thing is (and I realize that it's not the general perception) if you sincerely try to file your taxes and you screw up, the IRS will generally work with you to fix things. Sure, if you go all sovereign-citizen/Wesley Snipes and refuse to acknowledge taxes they'll kick in the door and take all your stuff. But if you accidentally report select head-of-household instead of single, and you can explain why you did, the IRS won't ruin your life.
- dpifke 3y ago
  They're even required to waive the penalties if you "acted with reasonable cause and good faith": https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-26/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-1/subject-group-ECFR1d0453abf9d86e0/section-1.6664-4 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-26/chapter-I/subchapter-A...
  - junar 3y ago
    "Reasonable cause" is a pretty hard bar to meet. [1] > The following factors don't generally qualify as valid reasons for failure to file or pay a tax on time: > Lack of knowledge. You're responsible for knowing or getting advice on how to file returns and pay or deposit taxes on time. This includes filing requirements, deadlines and amounts you owe. > Mistakes and oversights. You're responsible for making sure your tax returns, payments and deposits are correct and on time. In certain cases, reasonable cause may apply to a mistake if additional facts and circumstances show that you tried to comply with tax law. A much easier path is first time abatement. [2] Though of course as the name indicates, it can't be used multiple years in a row. [1] https://www.irs.gov/payments/penalty-relief-for-reasonable-cause https://www.irs.gov/payments/penalty-relief-for-reasonable-c... [2] https://www.irs.gov/payments/penalty-relief-due-to-first-time-abate-or-other-administrative-waiver https://www.irs.gov/payments/penalty-relief-due-to-first-tim...
    - dpifke 3y ago
      That's for failure to file or pay on time. The bar for a mistake (assuming you filed and paid on time) is much lower, see the next section, "Accuracy-Related Penalties," on the first link you posted: https://www.irs.gov/payments/penalty-relief-for-reasonable-cause#Accuracy-Related_Penalties https://www.irs.gov/payments/penalty-relief-for-reasonable-c...
deleted 3y ago
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hiatus 3y ago

Even if a CPA does your taxes, you still have to sign them. I think intuit offers some kind of service for audit protection post filing.

TylerE 3y ago

It could be so much easier. In most of Europe "filing" your taxes involves getting a short letter essentially saying you made $x, and <owe/are owed> $y, with short return forms to either agree, or file an appeal.

davchana 3y ago
Every time this comment is posted about non usa geographic area, somebody will post, but in US you have deductions, allowance, dividend, smaller profits, gifts. Which for sure all other countries too have, and somehow they have sorted this out. I think its the lobbying and the general mistrust of government "telling" a number vs calculating the number yourself. (Although if that is a wrong number, government/IRS tells the correct number).

OkayPhysicist 3y ago

If you make a good faith attempt at filing your taxes, you won't need liability protection. If you screw it up, you'll get a (relatively) polite message from the IRS that your taxes were screwy and you owe them money (or, occasionally, they owe you money).

Anechoic 3y ago

protects you from liability for incorrectly filing your taxes. In practice, it's not really needed. The thing is (and I realize that it's not the general perception) if you sincerely try to file your taxes and you screw up, the IRS will generally work with you to fix things. Sure, if you go all sovereign-citizen/Wesley Snipes and refuse to acknowledge taxes they'll kick in the door and take all your stuff. But if you accidentally report select head-of-household instead of single, and you can explain why you did, the IRS won't ruin your life.

dpifke 3y ago
They're even required to waive the penalties if you "acted with reasonable cause and good faith": https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-26/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-1/subject-group-ECFR1d0453abf9d86e0/section-1.6664-4 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-26/chapter-I/subchapter-A...
- junar 3y ago
  "Reasonable cause" is a pretty hard bar to meet. [1] > The following factors don't generally qualify as valid reasons for failure to file or pay a tax on time: > Lack of knowledge. You're responsible for knowing or getting advice on how to file returns and pay or deposit taxes on time. This includes filing requirements, deadlines and amounts you owe. > Mistakes and oversights. You're responsible for making sure your tax returns, payments and deposits are correct and on time. In certain cases, reasonable cause may apply to a mistake if additional facts and circumstances show that you tried to comply with tax law. A much easier path is first time abatement. [2] Though of course as the name indicates, it can't be used multiple years in a row. [1] https://www.irs.gov/payments/penalty-relief-for-reasonable-cause https://www.irs.gov/payments/penalty-relief-for-reasonable-c... [2] https://www.irs.gov/payments/penalty-relief-due-to-first-time-abate-or-other-administrative-waiver https://www.irs.gov/payments/penalty-relief-due-to-first-tim...
  - dpifke 3y ago
    That's for failure to file or pay on time. The bar for a mistake (assuming you filed and paid on time) is much lower, see the next section, "Accuracy-Related Penalties," on the first link you posted: https://www.irs.gov/payments/penalty-relief-for-reasonable-cause#Accuracy-Related_Penalties https://www.irs.gov/payments/penalty-relief-for-reasonable-c...

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]