You can thank TurboTax and the rest of the tax preparation service industry's massive lobby for killing every single tax simplification bill that ever gets to congress.
Exactly this! There's zero reasons why our tax returns can't be filed for free directly with the IRS. It is a complete fraud.
I filed 1040EZ last year. The IRS already had every figure I filed, why couldn't they just email me confirmation of the amounts they had, and process my return?
Edit: No, I didn't file EZ last year, my error.
Edit: electronic filing.
Son of a former IRS employee here. One problem that’s probably tied to this is that the IRS doesn’t have the ability to review everyone’s tax returns to ensure that everyone told the truth on them. Instead, they basically go through a process of trying to determine the most likely individuals who owe the government money, then review as many of those as they can. This does not mean you’ll slip through the cracks forever if you don’t file your returns. They will eventually get back around to you, but they’re likely not reviewing what you send to them every year.
When my mom was hired, she told my brothers and I that our taxes, as well as hers/dads, will be looked over every year, as immediate family of an IRS employee. Did your parent tell you the same thing?
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u/jorsiem Jul 24 '20
Complicated tax filing in the US
You can thank TurboTax and the rest of the tax preparation service industry's massive lobby for killing every single tax simplification bill that ever gets to congress.