2y ago

IRS plans to launch free tax filing pilot program in 13 states next year

www.cnn.com

IRS plans to launch free tax filing pilot program in 13 states next year | CNN Politics

The Internal Revenue Service is moving ahead with a plan to build its own free tax filing program, known as Direct File, announcing Tuesday that a pilot version will be available to some taxpayers in 13 states next year.

Armed with an influx of new money approved by Democrats last year, the IRS is conducting a major overhaul of its operations – despite continued threats from Republicans to cut future funding and even abolish the agency altogether.

Eventually, the IRS tax filing system could serve as an alternative to private tax preparation companies like H&R Block and Intuit’s TurboTax.

41 comments

This is great, but republicans are gonna hate it. They want everyone to hate taxes with a passion, so they make it difficult, time consuming and expensive to pay your taxes, and make government services as bad as possible so even poorer people who don't pay much tax feel they get a bad deal out of taxation.
If ordinary people found it easy and convenient to pay taxes they might notice that they get more out of government than they put in and that rich people are bearing more of the cost than they are. If they thought that, they might support tax increases or things that horrify republicans like medicaid for all.
- That's definitely also true, but republicans genuinely want everyone to hate taxation as well, so their interests very much align with the companies that want to fleece you.
  Lots of countries have pay as you earn schemes where your income tax is deducted but your employer and sent to the government and you don't have to even lift a finger, likewise the price on the item at the shop, by law, includes tax and it's completely seamless for you. Republicans will never like such schemes because they want taxation to be hated by all so that they'll go along with tax cuts that primarily benefit such folks.
- No they know this.
  They just want to privatize it so a rich bastard can get more money.
  
  Here's a fun article and book about just that. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/21534416/free-state-project-new-hampshire-libertarians-matthew-hongoltz-hetling
  
  Am I the only one paying quarterly for garbage service? It's like $800 a year.
- Free software like TaxHawk and FreetaxUSA popped up once TurboTax and HR Block started charging people. I get your point, but it doesn't carry as much weight with the fre, easy software that's out there.
- That second paragraph doesn't make sense to me. You are saying that "ordinary people" will notice that they benefit from the cost/return ratio compared to "rich people", so they'll get greedier?
  Don't get me wrong, I'm all for medicaid for all... but I don't follow that logic at all
  
  They'll notice that they benefit from taxation so they'll be happier with a higher tax economy and see that tax cuts hurt them more than help them.
- Technically, you don't have to. You can always file for free by filling out and mailing in the paper forms. It's just a major PITA and the money you save is rarely worth the amount of time and effort it takes.
  
  Incorrect, if you make less than 73k a year (single) you can use many professional tax preparation software for free. https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free I make more and was still able to do it for free using FreeTaxUSA for my federal income taxes. some states offer free state taxes (a bit more tedious than doing it on one system since you have to reenter information)
  
  Why not use free software like TaxHawk? It's been around for a while. At least since HR Block and TurboTax started charging people a few years ago.
- Man if they get this right it could be huge
  
  Turbo Tax is gonna be pissed. Good, fuck them.
  
  Tax Hawk is still an option for those not in a pilot state!
A few decades late, right on schedule
Plenty of people were happy to get sick and die, rather than accept Obamacare. I can imagine the same idiots thinking that they'll get a better refund if they pay for Turbotax.
- Nothing would prevent someone for doing the calculations with both programs and comparing.
  
  Other than laziness and propaganda.
  
  Why would they need to compare? It's the government, so it must be bad!!!
  /s
- just look at the vaccinations for another example
- No they will done some random person on the street or Facebook. This year's tax scheme is the fuel tax credit. People seem to believe a $20k refund with $5k income is normal.
  
  Could you expand on what you mean?
Great news for tax filers in the U.S., and I hope this could be a step in the right direction! It's about time the IRS introduced a free tax filing program. Overhauling their operations and offering an alternative to private tax preparation companies is a welcome move, but I agree with IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel that it should remain a choice for taxpayers.
It's interesting to see that some states like Arizona, California, Massachusetts, and New York are opting to integrate their state taxes with the federal Direct File system. This could streamline the tax filing process for many. And for those in states without a state income tax, it's good to know they might also have the chance to participate in this pilot program.
The IRS's efforts to improve taxpayer services and digitize paper-filed tax returns sound promising. Reduced processing times and faster refunds are definitely something we can all get behind.
Let's hope this initiative proves to be successful, and it's essential that eligibility is determined carefully to ensure the right taxpayers benefit from this program. 📄💰🖥️
- As a member of the agency the plan that is laid out is pretty competent. https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-modernization#:~:text=IRS%20Modernization%20Plan&text=The%20plan%20provides%20a%20six,mission%20and%20future%20development%20needs.
You could always file your taxes for free fyi
They had free tax filling for a while. It was kind to force you to use the paid options.
aarrgh. not illiniois. which is a bit surprising as illinois has really improved its online filing and this would to me seem a perfect next step.
- Maybe try messaging your representatives? Probably won't go anywhere, but you never know.
- At the very least Illinois makes it easy to file state. And the IRS can still lead you to free resources. I'm just frustrated since I work out of state that that red state doesn't make filling their returns easy.
Sad I won't be able to use this this year. Hopefully, next year, they add joint filing.
- Tax Hawk and FreeTax USA are some free options that will still be available to you!

41 comments