275
submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world
  • Some taxpayers will soon qualify for Direct File, a free tax-filing option from the IRS.
  • The pilot will begin as an invitation-only service before rolling out to certain taxpayers in 12 states by mid-March.
  • In 2023, individual U.S. taxpayers spent an average of $150 to prepare and file returns, according to the IRS.

Eligible states will include Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.

...

Who qualifies for IRS Direct File

Residents of eligible states with a simple, straightforward return can qualify. The pilot will start with limited types of income, credits and deductions, IRS officials said.

While only certain taxpayers can use Direct File, the bilingual software includes built-in live chat support with IRS assistors.

The pilot will only accept Form W-2 wages, Social Security retirement income, unemployment earnings and interest of $1,500 or less. This means the pilot won’t include anyone with gig economy work or business income.

You must claim the standard deduction to use the Direct File pilot and the system only accepts a few credits — the earned income tax credit, child tax credit and credit for other dependents. The software also accepts tax breaks for student loan interest and educator expenses.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago

Oh well. Guess you don't get to benefit from something everyone who isn't self-employed should benefit from.

Nah, let's leave the tax code impossibly complicated and easy for rich people to game on behalf of the handful of self-employed people in this country.

Tell you what, you keep doing your 15-minute taxes and the rest of us won't have to waste those 15 minutes. How's that?

[-] helenslunch@feddit.nl 1 points 10 months ago

You keep complaining instead of answering my question.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago

No. I answered your question. They bill you based on your W-2. Except for the handful of self-employed people like yourself who will have to do it the hard way.

[-] helenslunch@feddit.nl 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

I answered your question. They bill you based on your W-2

Why does it take you "a lot more than 15 minutes" to enter your income?

Except for the handful of self-employed people like yourself

You mean 10M Americans?

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago

Why does it take a lot more than 15 minutes? I'll let this 30-page document from the IRS explain. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf

And the U.S. population is 339.1 million, so you expect the tax code to revolve around less than 1% of taxpayers.

[-] helenslunch@feddit.nl 1 points 10 months ago

That was a Socratic question. I know the answer. It's because they need information they don't have to properly assess your taxes.

you expect the tax code to revolve around less than 1% of taxpayers.

I don't expect it to "revolve around" anyone. You were the one who brought my personal taxes into question.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago

It’s because they need information they don’t have to properly assess your taxes.

What information?

And how is it that many other countries are able to accomplish what I'm talking about?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay-as-you-earn_tax

[-] helenslunch@feddit.nl 1 points 10 months ago

What information?

The information you give them when you complete your taxes. Have you not paid taxes before?

And how is it that many other countries are able to accomplish what I'm talking about?

I've no idea, that's a good question for someone who lives in those places.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

I like how you've gone from 'we can't possibly do this' to 'other countries do it, but I don't know how, so we can't possibly do this.'

[-] helenslunch@feddit.nl 1 points 10 months ago

Well when you literally just fabricate things that I've said, it can be very easy to confuse yourself.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

Okay, if you weren't saying this wasn't doable, what on Earth was your point?

[-] helenslunch@feddit.nl 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

I just said I don't know how they do it so I can't comment on it. I can only comment on the American tax system as an American taxpayer.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

Yes, I know, you suggested that it couldn't be done in the U.S. but your only answer as to why it can't be done in the in the U.S. when it can be done in other countries is "I don't know how it works there," which is a cop-out. Your ignorance of how it works in other countries doesn't mean it can't work in the U.S.

[-] helenslunch@feddit.nl 1 points 10 months ago

you suggested that it couldn't be done in the U.S.

Nope, you're just making shit up again.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

You: "A bill for what? How do they know what to bill you for if you don’t tell them where and how you made and spent your money?"

Me: Here is a link to show you how other countries do it.

You: "I just said I don’t know how they do it so I can’t comment on it. I can only comment on the American tax system as an American taxpayer."

If that is not implying that it can't be done in the U.S., what did you mean? You apparently didn't even bother to look at the link to find out how it could be done.

[-] helenslunch@feddit.nl 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Sorry I missed your link. The US already has that system. It's listed under "Similar systems" in your link. That's why you have "tax refunds", because they typically overestimate what you owe and then give you the difference back in the following year. The only time you have to declare your income is when you are self-employed. It sounds like you are not very familiar with the US tax system.

Have you ever looked at your paycheck? It's usually the default unless you choose to opt out of it.

But that's only for income and not the other information I previously listed.

You're obviously conflating "I don't know how they do it" with "it can't be done".

this post was submitted on 28 Jan 2024
275 points (100.0% liked)

News

23387 readers
2580 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. We have an actively updated blocklist, which you can see here: https://lemmy.world/post/2246130 if you feel like any website is missing, contact the mods. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.


Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.


7. No duplicate posts.


If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners.


The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS