this post was submitted on 18 Nov 2023
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The IRS is actually testing a new system where they just tell you how much you owe/get, and that's it unless there's unreported income and such that needs to be corrected.
Also, the IRS only escalates straight to jail if it's incredibly obvious you're intentionally committing tax fraud. If your forms are wrong they just send you a letter to fix it.
I wish more people were aware of this. One year I made a rather significant number entry error and should have owed a couple thousand more than I paid. I got a fairly routine letter later in the year asking me to correct the error. I had a little mental panic, reran the numbers, and filed an amended return. There was no pressure, you always have payment options, and they send you back another letter confirming the acceptance of the amended file. I understand that many people would have significant problems paying extra unexpectedly but unless you are actively committing fraud you are not an immediate priority for the IRS.
And if you can't afford to pay it all in one go, they will work with you to set up a payment plan. If you can pay it off in 6 months it's basically a non-issue.
They sound so nice compared to how evil the ads make them
Or you can ignore it all together and let your refund the next year handle it 🙃
Make sure you save all those letters, lest you resolve the error and get a letter several years later saying you owe $x + interest due to an error that you've already resolved. Because they don't have those records digitally, apparently, and if you don't have paper copies of every document involved you might just get to pay that penalty whether it was ever due in the first place, or even if you've already paid the penalty. Or get a lawyer.
Which is what happened to me the year before last.
Absolutely! I save everything when I comes to my money.
Yeah, those letters should follow the 3-2-1 backup rule. 3 copies in 2 different mediums with 1 stored off-site.
Link? I will instantly use it. Mostly to stick it to Intuit.
Turbotax has entered the chat. Turbotax has DMed your senator a couple hundred thousand to make sure you will never be able to use this
I'm not going to lie; there is a threshold where just being a complete tribal savage is easier than dealing with the beauracacy. If it becomes too time consuming, expensive, and stressful to do taxes, I will squat in the soon-to-be ruins of business real estate and hunt the local pigeon and duck populations to survive.
They decide who is in the pilot at this point, not us.
That hurts, hope it comes to the public.
It will. Takes time to test and roll things out
You are severely underestimating the tax prep lobbyists. The IRS has been trying to do this for decades.
I'm aware of this. This is the first time I'm aware they managed to get a pilot system and I think that shows great promise. Also, people are noticing more and more, and pushing back.
Yes, but previously all the big player opted into a middle ground goverment sanctioned "free file" system that made filing taxes free for most Americans from these companies.
Thr big players have recently opted out, so the IRS is now actually running the pilot this year.
its only some states in the pilot and not mine :(
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-direct-file-update-free-secure-irs-run-electronic-filing-option-on-track-to-be-available-in-2024-as-a-limited-pilot
If you don't qualify for the pilot, you can also find out what other tax filing companies do not lobby to keep taxes hard to figure out and file.
So you mainly want to avoid Intuit owned companies and H&R Block. They alone spent millions per year to lobby against easy and free filing for taxpayers.
Then there's the ACTR (American Coalition Of Taxpayer Rights) who spend $100s of thousands a year lobbying for the same (and are made up by 14 members:
https://www.americancoalitionfortaxpayerrights.org/about/
Intuit
H&R Block
Tax Act
OnLine Taxes
Wolters Kluwer
Tax Hawk
Liberty Tax
Drake Software
Jackson Hewitt
also the following financial institutions:
Netspend
Republic Bank
TPG Santa Barbara
pathward
Edit: Started a post in /c/asklemmy to find out alternatives. Tax Act was my go-to company, but they've joined the ACTR at some point, so they're a no-go.
https://lemmy.world/post/8447282
Edit 2: Checking out some older reddit threads on the subject, FreeTaxUSA may be the best option so far. FreeTaxUSA are owned by Tax Hawk which is a member of the ACTR, however of all the ones i've checked so far, they are the cheapest (free Federal and $15 state), and at least they're not one of the top lobbying companies like Intuit(Turbo Tax/Credit Karma tax services), H&R Block, or Jackson Hewitt.
So uh, freetaxusa is pretty great...
Or not. Just cut out the middle man.
Things you need to know first
https://youtu.be/gT5_8nGWL0w?si=_Wc7SNtZXjvGOb8Y
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://piped.video/gT5_8nGWL0w?si=_Wc7SNtZXjvGOb8Y
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.
Why that isn't the default to begin with is anyone's guess
I mean it's not really. Lobbying. Lobbying is the reason.
It's the default in places like the UK. Tax companies gotta get in there and stall progress for profit.
Yeah. Where I live I get a message from our version of the IRS. They tell me how much taxes I've paid last year, and if I'm owed back taxes or if I owe more. If I don't change it, I accept it. Easy.
It's already like this with free tax returns. It just sucks you have to go through Intuit, because of their lobbying. The government is also counting on you to not properly doing your taxes. They want you to be lazy and pay more in taxes, for the convenience.
They don't want to come after people who aren't paying their taxes. They're making it inconvenient to file, so poor people who don't have time/ knowledge overpay.
You apparently misunderstood what I was saying. The IRS is testing a program where they tell you how much you get/owe, and that's it unless you need to make changes like adding deductions or reporting unreported income.
That's the free program they're offering already, it's through Intuit, though.
They specifically want you to neglect to report your deductions.
No, it's not the legacy "free file" program, which Intuit has actually opted out of.
It's a new "Direct file" pilot program. It will automatically calculate your deductions and credits, as they are not in anyway trying to "stop you" from getting them.
Unless you have more itemized deductions than the standardized deduction would save you, there's not a point in reporting your deductions.
And you'd have to be in a pretty high income bracket or run your own business for that to happen.
I make upper middle class money and keep all receipts and such, and I've never had my itemized deductions surpass the standardized deduction. But every year I enter all of it just to see.
If you're one of the people who do, then you're likely already have a tax accountant doing your taxes for you.
No it's not. They're testing out direct filing in 13 states this year, cutting companies like Intuit out of the equation for a giant chunk of the population.
That sounds like how it works in my country. Every year is just log in, take a quick look at the numbers, sign and send it away. Takes a minute or two and it just works.
Testing for 13 states for now.
https://youtu.be/gT5_8nGWL0w?si=_Wc7SNtZXjvGOb8Y
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://piped.video/gT5_8nGWL0w?si=_Wc7SNtZXjvGOb8Y
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.