4 ms·

As long as they don't kill FreeFillableForms...

by cozzyd 1y ago

tinktank 1y ago
[sorry](https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/free-file-fillable-forms https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/free-file-fillable-form...)
- teraflop 1y ago
  That's about it being closed for the 2025 tax year (because the filing deadling has passed), not about the program being shut down.
beej71 1y ago
If they do, I'm filing paper. Clowns.
- jabroni_salad 1y ago
  You know, the IRS is basically defunded, even not counting the whole shutdown thing. I wonder how many people need to file handwritten by mail before it becomes a significant problem
  - cyberax 1y ago
    IRS will absolutely go after regular people who just have a W-2 and maybe a couple of 1040 forms. It's easy to verify automatically. But if you're a rich person with dozens of companies and complicated trusts? Yep, nobody is going to be looking.
    - soared 1y ago
      This is incorrect - the higher your income the higher percent chance you have of being audited. (Also higher for very low income <25k) https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12521#:~:text=The%20IRS%20generally%20audits%20a,and%20the%20COVID%2D19%20pandemic. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12521#:~:text=The%20I...
      - cyberax 1y ago
        Because it's technically not "audit". They just send you an automated letter if they find any discrepancies: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/understanding-your-cp2000-series-notice https://www.irs.gov/individuals/understanding-your-cp2000-se... And they _will_ find them. For example, one year I forgot to add a line from one of 1040 forms to my return. I got a notification from the IRS about a year later that I have under-reported taxes. And with the defunding of the IRS, they'll severely limit the complex audits.
      - archagon 1y ago
        "The IRS unit that audits billionaires has lost 38% of its employees since January, new data shows" https://www.icij.org/news/2025/03/the-irs-unit-that-audits-billionaires-has-lost-38-percent-of-its-employees-since-january-new-data-shows/ https://www.icij.org/news/2025/03/the-irs-unit-that-audits-b... "After mass firings, the IRS is poised to close audits of wealthy taxpayers, agents say" https://www.icij.org/inside-icij/2025/03/after-mass-firings-the-irs-is-poised-to-close-audits-of-wealthy-taxpayers-agents-say/ https://www.icij.org/inside-icij/2025/03/after-mass-firings-...
  - beej71 1y ago
    Gut feel is if 10% of taxpayers did it the system would be pretty well DOS'd.
mixmastamyk 1y ago
It started requiring phone numbers and things and I stopped using it in favor of my own spreadsheet.
- simoncion 1y ago
  > It started requiring phone numbers and things... a) You're already trusting them with every piece of information in your tax return. It'd cost like five cents to use that information to discover your phone number... if they're malicious, you're already fucked. b) When? At the end of the process where you're doing stuff like attesting that you're not lied on your tax return? I don't remember them demanding a phone number up front, and I also don't remember whether or not I refused to provide a phone number at the end.
  - cozzyd 1y ago
    The 1040 has a spot for phone number too...
    - simoncion 1y ago
      The 1040 has a spot for both a phone number and an email address. The 1040 instructions make it completely clear that both are optional. You have the option of entering your phone number and email address in the spaces provided. There will be no effect on the processing of your return if you choose not to enter this information. Note that the IRS initiates most contacts through regular mail delivered by the United States Postal Service.
  - mixmastamyk 1y ago
    No, I didn’t enter PII into it, just let it do math, downloaded, and printed. Wrote contact info by hand. (The efiling never worked for me, always complained about something esoteric.) They’re just values as far as it’s concerned. And it is dumped every October. But phone # validation up front is too much, an overstep. Like I said, I just used it for the calc ability so a spreadsheet works as well. Bit of work the first year, then tweak.

As long as they don't kill FreeFillableForms...

by cozzyd 1y ago

As long as they don't kill FreeFillableForms...

[sorry](https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/free-file-fillable-forms https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/free-file-fillable-form...)

teraflop 1y ago
That's about it being closed for the 2025 tax year (because the filing deadling has passed), not about the program being shut down.

beej71 1y ago

If they do, I'm filing paper. Clowns.

jabroni_salad 1y ago
You know, the IRS is basically defunded, even not counting the whole shutdown thing. I wonder how many people need to file handwritten by mail before it becomes a significant problem
- cyberax 1y ago
  IRS will absolutely go after regular people who just have a W-2 and maybe a couple of 1040 forms. It's easy to verify automatically. But if you're a rich person with dozens of companies and complicated trusts? Yep, nobody is going to be looking.
  - soared 1y ago
    This is incorrect - the higher your income the higher percent chance you have of being audited. (Also higher for very low income <25k) https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12521#:~:text=The%20IRS%20generally%20audits%20a,and%20the%20COVID%2D19%20pandemic. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12521#:~:text=The%20I...
    - cyberax 1y ago
      Because it's technically not "audit". They just send you an automated letter if they find any discrepancies: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/understanding-your-cp2000-series-notice https://www.irs.gov/individuals/understanding-your-cp2000-se... And they _will_ find them. For example, one year I forgot to add a line from one of 1040 forms to my return. I got a notification from the IRS about a year later that I have under-reported taxes. And with the defunding of the IRS, they'll severely limit the complex audits.
    - archagon 1y ago
      "The IRS unit that audits billionaires has lost 38% of its employees since January, new data shows" https://www.icij.org/news/2025/03/the-irs-unit-that-audits-billionaires-has-lost-38-percent-of-its-employees-since-january-new-data-shows/ https://www.icij.org/news/2025/03/the-irs-unit-that-audits-b... "After mass firings, the IRS is poised to close audits of wealthy taxpayers, agents say" https://www.icij.org/inside-icij/2025/03/after-mass-firings-the-irs-is-poised-to-close-audits-of-wealthy-taxpayers-agents-say/ https://www.icij.org/inside-icij/2025/03/after-mass-firings-...
- beej71 1y ago
  Gut feel is if 10% of taxpayers did it the system would be pretty well DOS'd.

mixmastamyk 1y ago

It started requiring phone numbers and things and I stopped using it in favor of my own spreadsheet.

simoncion 1y ago
> It started requiring phone numbers and things... a) You're already trusting them with every piece of information in your tax return. It'd cost like five cents to use that information to discover your phone number... if they're malicious, you're already fucked. b) When? At the end of the process where you're doing stuff like attesting that you're not lied on your tax return? I don't remember them demanding a phone number up front, and I also don't remember whether or not I refused to provide a phone number at the end.
- cozzyd 1y ago
  The 1040 has a spot for phone number too...
  - simoncion 1y ago
    The 1040 has a spot for both a phone number and an email address. The 1040 instructions make it completely clear that both are optional. You have the option of entering your phone number and email address in the spaces provided. There will be no effect on the processing of your return if you choose not to enter this information. Note that the IRS initiates most contacts through regular mail delivered by the United States Postal Service.
- mixmastamyk 1y ago
  No, I didn’t enter PII into it, just let it do math, downloaded, and printed. Wrote contact info by hand. (The efiling never worked for me, always complained about something esoteric.) They’re just values as far as it’s concerned. And it is dumped every October. But phone # validation up front is too much, an overstep. Like I said, I just used it for the calc ability so a spreadsheet works as well. Bit of work the first year, then tweak.