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points by RGS1811 1 day ago | 0 comments

I'm not sure it matters. The IRS killed Direct File under lobbying pressure from the tax prep industry. In my opinion the public is owed a free version of this sort of tool. If the IRS doesn't produce it, then citizens ought to. If Google or Anthropic or whoever wants to offer a free version of this, more power to them, but I don't see why they'd bother. They could have done it decades ago.

And to be clear: my vision here isn't "have an agent do your taxes", it's to have agents build a hardened and thoroughly verified deterministic tool that can help you navigate the (somewhat bewildering) forms and instructions decision tree when filing your own taxes.

[–] singhrac 1 day ago

This is great, and I appreciate the approach. Yes, tax calculation should be a decision tree. Unfortunately it is truly pretty complicated (just this year I had to abandon FreeTaxUSA for TurboTax because the latter handled an important case I needed better). But I have a lot of faith that we can do this right. Good luck!

[–] tosser811 1 day ago

Funny, after 10+ years of using TurboTax Online I moved to FreeTaxUSA last year and it's like a breath of fresh air. TurboTax couldn't do what I needed to do (e-file a late return) and FreeTaxUSA had no problem with doing that.

[–] ToucanLoucan 1 day ago

I have a probably stupid question: given that the IRS killed Direct File, even if your software can create ready-to-file (or even ones that need some work) tax returns, isn't that moot without a way to like... get the IRS to accept them?

[–] RGS1811 1 day ago

You just mail them in!

[–] ordersofmag 1 day ago

If your software can fill out the forms then you can (at the very least) print them and mail them in. The IRS certainly still accepts that.

https://www.irs.gov/filing/where-to-file-paper-tax-returns-w...

[–] ToucanLoucan 17 hours ago

Ohhhh I thought Direct File included the mail-in options, not just the online one. Thank you!

[–] ryandrake 1 day ago

Why wouldn't the IRS accept a tax return created by your own software? How would they even know it was custom software? Ultimately your tax return is just a stack of papers that gets sent to the IRS.

[–] rbhelt 1 day ago

Software sending efiles to the IRS has to be tested with and approved by the IRS. The IRS is working toward eliminating paper filing as an option. At this point, paid preparers are legally required to efile all returns and if the return gets rejected and they must paper file, they have to include Form 8948, Explanation for Paper Filing. For the IRS to accept a tax return from software the software has to go through this process. https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/how-tax-preparation-sof...

[–] ClikeX 1 day ago

As someone from the Netherlands, this is bonkers to me. I just log in to the tax site, review what they've already filled in for me, and submit.

[–] rbhelt 1 day ago

It is truly insane. Major corporations spent billions to prevent this. The worst part is that for the majority of Americans, the government has already internally prepared their tax return before they even file but again the tax preparation industry spends a fortune lobbying Congress to prevent an automatic filing of taxes.

[–] ToucanLoucan 15 hours ago

I think you meant to say they spent billions to create this?

In either case the tax prep industry is a pox on our society. But of course this is America, and replacing a perfectly functioning publicly accessible service with a nightmare of private sector bullshit is the most violently American shit ever.

[–] what 1 day ago

As an American, it is bonkers to me too. Last year my former employer did not issue me a w-2. I called the IRS to ask them what to do. They said they had all the information but can’t release it to me until after the filing deadline. Instead I was told to use form 4852 to estimate and file an amended return if my estimate was wrong once they give me the numbers they have. Worst part is you can’t efile when you file with form 4852.

Anyway, my point is that for 95% of people they have all the information already and you shouldn’t have to file.

[–] rbhelt 1 day ago

This! I am CPA with a tax practice and it makes me unreasonably angry that the tax prep industrial complex has lobbied our government into making the vast majority of people stress over their tax returns or have to pay someone to prepare a return that is already sitting on an IRS computer. No CPA worth their salt wants to do the simple returns but companies like Intuit and HR Block feed off them.

[–] thenewnewguy 1 day ago

The first option on Form 8948 is "Taxpayer chose to file this return on paper" - is there any evidence paper filing is going away permanently?

[–] singron 1 day ago

You can use free file fillable forms to submit online. It's a bit of work to transcribe from other software. It also requires a particular interpretation when filling forms (e.g. you need to round before summing your W-2s).