Free File

[Yppej]

I got a postcard on this from the IRS last year after I already filed my taxes and thought I would try it this year since paper took so long last year due to covid.

Right now I can't see yet who the 2022 partners are yet. My income is below $72,000 so as I read it I have to choose a partner and cannot fill out the forms myself which I would prefer. To me that is another place for my personal information to be stored and possibly hacked.

Have any of you used this service? Did you like it? Which partner did you select?

[Yppej]

All the free file providers had issues as reported to the Better Business Bureau. I landed up using free Turbo Tax instead.

[iris lilies]

VITA (Volunteers in Tax Assistance) used to sit in public libraries and offer free tax preparation for low-to-moderate income people.,This program went on for decades. It is probably still going on, but you wont set foot in a library.

Jeppy, I cant see you transmitting “sensitive” personal information over internet waves since you won’t even attend Zoom meetings because those might get “hacked” (I am still scratching my head over that one. So what if someone breaks into a meeting? But I digress…)

But as I think about it, any in-person help would probqbly require masking up, so that is out. Transmit your Social Security number over internet? You OK with that?

[ToomuchStuff]

It did used to be, that you could fill out the paper forms yourself, and then they used them to fill out the electronic versions on their computers, to send. (this way you knew where you were/owed/refund)

I've never done it, out of the principle, as there was some deal passed, that they pushed for, where businesses would get the rights to do this, and they were not to approve any free/open source tax preparation software.
You can't even use an open source PDF software, to fill out the paperwork.

[Yppej]

Well IL, I am hoping in the future the IRS is not backlogged two years and I can go back to paper. Someone could steal my tax return from the mail as well. Every once in a while you hear about these crooked postal employees who do that. But I think mail is better than online.

The IRS is in terrible shape now. They sent my brother a letter that he didn't file his taxes last year. He did and they had no problem cashing his check immediately but didn't bother to process his return.

I wish we had a flat tax with no deductions as Steve Forbes proposed years ago. Have a threshold below which you pay no taxes, then everything else is at the flat rate. It could all be handled through payroll deduction with no need to file taxes every year.

[jp1]

We could have a mostly non-filing tax system now but Big Tax Prep has successfully lobbied against such a sensible idea. The IRS already has all of the necessary information for a vast majority of taxpayers. Our employers, banks, stock brokerages, etc, have already sent all the necessary information to them. They have software that will catch it if you don't include any of that information on your tax form, and will then calculate the tax owed as a result. There's no logical reason that they couldn't send everyone a pre-filled tax form saying "this is what we think you owe based on the following information provided to us. If you disagree please note the changes and provide relevant supporting documents."