If you work for a gig app in the US they make you go thru this charade when doing taxes where you're treated and taxed as an independent business owner. joke country
making me enter a special code and fill out forms and pay for the 'deLuXe' tax software because only that can handle the right forms
i assume other countries do this too. scum apps more like
The IRS has set up instructions on how to do the paperwork yourself. You are fully capable of reading and following directions. If you really don't want to pay the software, then file for yourself.
Your response is tone deaf. The American tax code is intentionally complicated to protect tax filing companies and to allow the rich to take advantage of loop holes. I can't believe how housebroken some people are that they defend the shitty tax system instead of sharing in OP's anger.
What is this, tax advice from Stack Overflow? I don't understand why people like you don't save your criticism for the system, instead of at the people using the system.
Yes, the system is fucked up... because the instructions are intentionally designed to be complicated to follow. I don't know a single person stupid enough to waste their time doing their own taxes by following the directions on the IRS documentation. Horrible advice. Not even professional tax accountants do that.
The IRS free tax-filing service is in limited trial in a few states, eligible only to simple returns within limited income ranges. Most people, including 1099 people like OP, can't use it.