4 ms·

Which is basically how it works here too. If you just have W-2 income from an employer it takes less than 10 minutes to fill out the form. Sure, the system yo

Which is basically how it works here too. If you just have W-2 income from an employer it takes less than 10 minutes to fill out the form. Sure, the system you mention is more convenient, but the difference is minimal.

rcbdev 1y ago
The system he mentioned is usually equally simple for self-employed.
- terminalshort 1y ago
  When I have had 1099s from consulting work it has also been very easy to file. Not quite as easy as Direct File could make it, but pretty damn easy.
chneu 1y ago
Lol not really in practice.
wildzzz 1y ago
The IRS already has most of my tax information and knows the tax code. Why must I deal with a third party (and potentially have to pay them) to electronically file my own taxes?
- Amezarak 1y ago
  You don't have to pay. https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/free-file-fillable-forms https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/free-file-fillable-form... As for "having most of your tax information", they don't. They know your reported income. You see that on your W2s/1099s/etc. What they don't know is whether or not you had a kid this year, or whether you lost a kid this year, whether you got married or divorced, if your spouse is claiming the kids this year or not, the number or amount of your charitable contributions, whether you have deductible mileage expenses, or a million other things.
  - klausa 1y ago
    This argument could be put in a museum as a perfect illustration of the "Perfect is the enemy of good" maxim. Would just relying on the information from your employers cover all possible edge-cases? No. Would it dramatically simplify the process for (tens?) millions of people? Absolutely.
    - Amezarak 1y ago
      The number and type of people living in your household is not an edge case. It applies to almost everyone, has huge tax impacts, and the IRS doesn’t know.
      - array_key_first 1y ago
        The argument is that you don't need a third party like Intuit to get this information. The IRS could get it themselves - they choose not to.
        ffffgov 1y ago
        They can’t. Because IRS IT has been starved, beaten and abused for 20 years. If they had the resources and leadership, all of this could be possible via MOUs and better data access/normalization from the mainframes.
        array_key_first 1y ago
        I agree, but IMO this is a choice. Not a fact of life.
    - terminalshort 1y ago
      The info that the IRS has from your employer is maybe 5 boxes on your return. Literally takes a few minutes to take the info from your w-2 and put it on a 1040.
      - 1y ago
- terminalshort 1y ago
  You don't have to do that. There is no such requirement. You can fill out the forms for free.
  - nielsbot 1y ago
    But that's a bad solution. (Otherwise why do TurboTax et al even exist in the first place?) IRS should just have a public free filing solution for everyone. If you have complicated taxes or want to do your own filing, you can still do that.
    - terminalshort 1y ago
      They do. https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/free-file-fillable-forms https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/free-file-fillable-form.... And no it isn't a bad solution. I use it every year.
      - nielsbot 1y ago
        From their description: "You do the work" That's not what we're talking about. What we're talking about is: "We did your tax return for you based on all the information reported to us. Please click 'OK' to complete your return for the year."
- testing22321 1y ago
  The same reason you pay exorbitant sums for healthcare, education, transport and much more. The US is not a county optimized to provide quality services inexpensively. It is a business optimized to maximize profits.
- ghoul2 1y ago
  When I lived in the US(5 yrs), early 2000s, from my second year onwards, I used to receive a pre-filled 1040NR-EZ with my W2 info already printed/filled-in on it. Typically, I would just add a deduction, and mailed it back. Does that program not exist? Or was it only for NR?
  - wildzzz 1y ago
    1040EZ form has been discontinued years ago. I guess it was too EZ.
insane_dreamer 1y ago
In theory, yes. In practice, no. Also, Americans have to file both fed and state taxes (with different rules)
- tharne 1y ago
  > Also, Americans have to file both fed and state taxes (with different rules) And if that weren't enough, you've go municipal taxes too, in a few places like New York and Detroit.

rcbdev 1y ago

The system he mentioned is usually equally simple for self-employed.

terminalshort 1y ago
When I have had 1099s from consulting work it has also been very easy to file. Not quite as easy as Direct File could make it, but pretty damn easy.

chneu 1y ago

Lol not really in practice.

wildzzz 1y ago

The IRS already has most of my tax information and knows the tax code. Why must I deal with a third party (and potentially have to pay them) to electronically file my own taxes?

Amezarak 1y ago
You don't have to pay. https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/free-file-fillable-forms https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/free-file-fillable-form... As for "having most of your tax information", they don't. They know your reported income. You see that on your W2s/1099s/etc. What they don't know is whether or not you had a kid this year, or whether you lost a kid this year, whether you got married or divorced, if your spouse is claiming the kids this year or not, the number or amount of your charitable contributions, whether you have deductible mileage expenses, or a million other things.
- klausa 1y ago
  This argument could be put in a museum as a perfect illustration of the "Perfect is the enemy of good" maxim. Would just relying on the information from your employers cover all possible edge-cases? No. Would it dramatically simplify the process for (tens?) millions of people? Absolutely.
  - Amezarak 1y ago
    The number and type of people living in your household is not an edge case. It applies to almost everyone, has huge tax impacts, and the IRS doesn’t know.
    - array_key_first 1y ago
      The argument is that you don't need a third party like Intuit to get this information. The IRS could get it themselves - they choose not to.
      - ffffgov 1y ago
        They can’t. Because IRS IT has been starved, beaten and abused for 20 years. If they had the resources and leadership, all of this could be possible via MOUs and better data access/normalization from the mainframes.
        array_key_first 1y ago
        I agree, but IMO this is a choice. Not a fact of life.
  - terminalshort 1y ago
    The info that the IRS has from your employer is maybe 5 boxes on your return. Literally takes a few minutes to take the info from your w-2 and put it on a 1040.
    - 1y ago
terminalshort 1y ago
You don't have to do that. There is no such requirement. You can fill out the forms for free.
- nielsbot 1y ago
  But that's a bad solution. (Otherwise why do TurboTax et al even exist in the first place?) IRS should just have a public free filing solution for everyone. If you have complicated taxes or want to do your own filing, you can still do that.
  - terminalshort 1y ago
    They do. https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/free-file-fillable-forms https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/free-file-fillable-form.... And no it isn't a bad solution. I use it every year.
    - nielsbot 1y ago
      From their description: "You do the work" That's not what we're talking about. What we're talking about is: "We did your tax return for you based on all the information reported to us. Please click 'OK' to complete your return for the year."
testing22321 1y ago
The same reason you pay exorbitant sums for healthcare, education, transport and much more. The US is not a county optimized to provide quality services inexpensively. It is a business optimized to maximize profits.
ghoul2 1y ago
When I lived in the US(5 yrs), early 2000s, from my second year onwards, I used to receive a pre-filled 1040NR-EZ with my W2 info already printed/filled-in on it. Typically, I would just add a deduction, and mailed it back. Does that program not exist? Or was it only for NR?
- wildzzz 1y ago
  1040EZ form has been discontinued years ago. I guess it was too EZ.

insane_dreamer 1y ago

In theory, yes. In practice, no. Also, Americans have to file both fed and state taxes (with different rules)

tharne 1y ago
> Also, Americans have to file both fed and state taxes (with different rules) And if that weren't enough, you've go municipal taxes too, in a few places like New York and Detroit.