One issue: using our SSNs for everything, which was never intended when it was created. We really should have separate tax IDs.
Another issue: the idiocy of continuing to remove funding from the IRS. How are they reasonably supposed to tackle such an important issue without funding and personnel?
Since this is The Racket News, it may be good to talk about why we need to file manually all the time instead of having a mostly automated process (at least for those that are receiving W2s and 1099s). The government receives those forms and already knows what most people owe/are owed. Of course we know the reason - the tax preparation racket!
That's one reason I've been using CashApp Taxes (previously Credit Karma, before the tax preparation part was offloaded due to CK's acquisition by Intuit) which is both very easy to use and free for both Federal and state tax prep.
Like we say to the preacher, now you’re meddlin’. The tax prep and advisory business is large, well funded and lobbies more than the church prays. It would be great if we operated like Japan but we don’t and never will.
Great point regarding SSNs. I gave up the fight when my US Army serial number was replaced with my SSN. I still think SSNs could be better policed by stiff penalties for employers, but they want cheap labor and personal data theft is a booming business.
While extremely inconvenient for the victims, SSN theft affects only a small percentage of the taxpayers. I have prepared over 1000 returns and checked a similar number by other preparers and do not believe more than a dozen involved PINs.
I briefly checked CashApp Taxes and it looks interesting. I did not immediately find whether it provides access to past returns and prefilled W-2 and 1099 payee information for year to year.
Your anecdote on SSN fraud is 1.2%, so at least 4mil people affected.
It does pull my previous returns that I have with them, and IIRC you can import previous ones (but don't take my word on that). You *can* take a picture of a W-2 in the app and have it populate the fields for you - I typically just type it out.
My son had a tax return rejected because a return using his SSN had already been processed. This happened about six years ago, so it had nothing to do with DOGE. He has had to use a PIN since then. It took him about two years to get his refund which he did not need and the interest rate was very good. I'm pretty sure someone who was working in construction or meat packing was using his SSN. I've read that even SSNs for infants are prime fraud targets and do not normally get detected for years.
I did tax returns in the Tax Aide program for ten years. The last few years we used Tax Slayer which was a coincidence because I played golf with one of the principals in Augusta. It is a good software. The Tax Aide program is free and available for taxpayers who are not preachers or farmers and who do not have rental income or any other business involving appreciation or inventory. Taxpayers with lots of self-employment income and multi-state tax returns are not eligible for Tax Aide. The in-state limitation was a change that required us to turn away the taxpayers who drove 20 miles or so from North- and South Carolina.
I use Tax Slayer because my income sources never change and I do not have the deductions to itemize. I can do a return in an hour and check it with my wife's help in another 30 minutes. Well worth the $69.
You may have saved your son from getting sued by the IRS in 5-10 years.
One issue: using our SSNs for everything, which was never intended when it was created. We really should have separate tax IDs.
Another issue: the idiocy of continuing to remove funding from the IRS. How are they reasonably supposed to tackle such an important issue without funding and personnel?
Since this is The Racket News, it may be good to talk about why we need to file manually all the time instead of having a mostly automated process (at least for those that are receiving W2s and 1099s). The government receives those forms and already knows what most people owe/are owed. Of course we know the reason - the tax preparation racket!
That's one reason I've been using CashApp Taxes (previously Credit Karma, before the tax preparation part was offloaded due to CK's acquisition by Intuit) which is both very easy to use and free for both Federal and state tax prep.
Like we say to the preacher, now you’re meddlin’. The tax prep and advisory business is large, well funded and lobbies more than the church prays. It would be great if we operated like Japan but we don’t and never will.
Depends on what we demand from our electeds and who we elect, doesn't it?
Great point regarding SSNs. I gave up the fight when my US Army serial number was replaced with my SSN. I still think SSNs could be better policed by stiff penalties for employers, but they want cheap labor and personal data theft is a booming business.
While extremely inconvenient for the victims, SSN theft affects only a small percentage of the taxpayers. I have prepared over 1000 returns and checked a similar number by other preparers and do not believe more than a dozen involved PINs.
I briefly checked CashApp Taxes and it looks interesting. I did not immediately find whether it provides access to past returns and prefilled W-2 and 1099 payee information for year to year.
It'd just be better to have separate IDs.
Your anecdote on SSN fraud is 1.2%, so at least 4mil people affected.
It does pull my previous returns that I have with them, and IIRC you can import previous ones (but don't take my word on that). You *can* take a picture of a W-2 in the app and have it populate the fields for you - I typically just type it out.
Thanks. Typing things out is a chore for me but I will see how CashApp Taxes works before I file.
My son had a tax return rejected because a return using his SSN had already been processed. This happened about six years ago, so it had nothing to do with DOGE. He has had to use a PIN since then. It took him about two years to get his refund which he did not need and the interest rate was very good. I'm pretty sure someone who was working in construction or meat packing was using his SSN. I've read that even SSNs for infants are prime fraud targets and do not normally get detected for years.
I did tax returns in the Tax Aide program for ten years. The last few years we used Tax Slayer which was a coincidence because I played golf with one of the principals in Augusta. It is a good software. The Tax Aide program is free and available for taxpayers who are not preachers or farmers and who do not have rental income or any other business involving appreciation or inventory. Taxpayers with lots of self-employment income and multi-state tax returns are not eligible for Tax Aide. The in-state limitation was a change that required us to turn away the taxpayers who drove 20 miles or so from North- and South Carolina.
I use Tax Slayer because my income sources never change and I do not have the deductions to itemize. I can do a return in an hour and check it with my wife's help in another 30 minutes. Well worth the $69.