This is awesome! Now the IRS just needs to send me my already completed taxes that I just verify, sign, and return, like they do in Sweden.
- But... why doesn't anyone think of the millionaires :(
- If they are missing something, is it easy to ammend what they send, or do you gotta start from scratch and you can only use that as a reference?
  
  There is no 'scratch', you login and practically everything is filled out. If you want to change or add something, you can do so.
- How does that work for businesses and investments? In the UK I don’t have to do anything for taxes with my job, but if the investments in a rental property, or something like that, are over £4000 I have to do the forms.
  
  They give you something to sign. For the majority of people, they just say "Yeah, sounds about right" and they confirm it.
  
  For people with added complexities, they'll do what they already currently do and add in the details you're talking about. It's literally win-win all around except for the tax soft company CEOs.
Intuit seems to be worried. Shortly after this story was published, Rick Heineman, the company’s communications VP, emailed The Verge with an aggressive statement calling the IRS’s pilot “redundant” and “half-baked.”

“The Direct File scheme is a solution in search of a problem,” he wrote, adding that it could end up “costing billions of dollars in taxpayer money.”

"Yeah you morons! Don't use the free tools that the govt provides you! Pay us to do it!"
- hes literally pointing out the problem with their own product..."redundant","solution in search of problem", "costs taxpayers stupid money".
  
  ... dude theres 4 fingers point back at you.
  
  And the last one is flipping him off.
Permanently Deleted
- I'm highly surprised Texas is on that list.
  
  Ditto for TN
  
  It's becuase Texas doesn't have state income taxes so there is literally nothing extra they need to do to comply. Same goes for Florida and Tennessee, which commenters also mentioned.
  
  Yeah...these hard right states signing on board is making me wonder if they are doing so just to shit on the program and "have a say" on how it goes.
- 2024 filing season means this coming year to file 2023 taxes, not when you file your 2024 taxes in 2025, right?
  
  Next year, 2024 Tax Filing Season (2023 Taxes)
  
  https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-advances-innovative-direct-file-project-for-2024-tax-season-free-irs-run-pilot-option-projected-to-be-available-for-eligible-taxpayers-in-13-states
  
  Direct File is one more potential option from which qualifying taxpayers will be able to choose to file a 2023 federal tax return during the 2024 filing season.
  
  Yes, 2023 taxes being filed in the "2024 filing season" as the IRS calls it.
- Holy shit, some nice news from NH. Seems like it's been a while since we were in the news for anything other than an embarrassment or the election.
Very good news. Tired of giving money to the tax prep vampires. But initial roll out is for simple tax situations (W-2 and deducting student loan interest).

Why can’t this program also apply to selling of stocks/options as well? This information is already furnished to the IRS
- This information is already furnished to the IRS
  
  The fact that you sold it is already furnished to the IRS, yes. But not what your cost basis was, therefore not what you actually owe. You have to either calculate that yourself or have someone who knows what they're doing do it for you.
  
  Some fancy trades perhaps not, but I have yet to have a line item not have this on it: (basis reported to the IRS)
  
  Permanently Deleted
In some European countries, paying income tax means that the government sends you a form that is already completely filled out except for your deductions, and you simply verify that it looks good, then you add in whatever deductions you have, and file it.

Because 99% of the work in filing our taxes in America is completely worthless. The government already receives information directly from the same companies who send you all those tax forms. The IRS already knows all the information. Making you input it again is just a way to ensure the maximum number of mistakes.

So the IRS is taking a good first step, but we still have a long way to go to catch up to what people in other countries already have. Instead of making me fill out the forms, and the IRS checks for errors, have the IRS automatically fill out the forms, and I'll check for errors. In a civilized country, this is something that we should already have.
- It’s because the tax filing software companies lobby lawmakers to prevent exactly what you described. They want to keep the tax code complicated, so people feel the need to continue buying tax software every year. Seriously, tax software lobbies are some of the largest lobby groups in the country.
  
  And the other half of that is that Republicans want to make paying taxes as difficult as possible so people will support tax cuts
Intuit must be pissed.
- Permanently Deleted
There was a massive bipartisan (well POTUS and Dems in Congress) push for this in the second half of the Bush Administration. It lost GOP support after the Republican House Caucus turned on Bush for his path to citizenship immigration reform policy. Intuit and its peers have so much money in this and in lobbying.

"According to the IRS, these are the states joining the pilot:

States with state income tax: Arizona, California, Massachusetts, and New York
States without state income tax: Alaska, Florida, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming"

Nice! I just moved out of NY State (NYC) and down to Florida, free filing and no state income tax for me!
- Yeah, but you have to live in Florida…
  
  The politics may suck, but everything else is wonderful down here in Miami. It's a lot different than central and northern Florida.
- Permanently Deleted
  
  That was one of my friend's selling points about moving here lol I'd get raped with taxes in NYC. I would make $110k/year but I'd be lucky if I saw $85k.
Ugh, another example of government overreach. This is just going to make it harder for me to pretend to do taxes for 6 hours. What, do I have to keep the terms of service open to “read” for 6 hours? Who’s going to believe that?
We should be eliminating income tax, not making it easier for the government to take our money.
- Complete pipe dream. The government is gonna take their share whether you like it or not, the only thing this changes is that big tac corporations won't take theirs, too
- How do you propose we pay for roads, military, and everything else you use?
  
  You know there are lots of other taxes than just income tax?
  
  Roads and car infrastructure, at least in my area, is paid for entirely through through gas and car insurance taxes, occasionally property taxes if it's in a municipality. But income tax doesn't pay a penny for the roads.
- Meanwhile the IRS should do what other countries do and just use the data they already have and send you a tax bill. What we currently have for like 99% of the tax paying public is a system where you get to guess if you filled out the forms correctly and then the irs, using the data it already has for you, corrects your mistakes and sometimes penalizes you for getting it wrong. All this while allowing Intuit and others to extract even more rent from people.
- What's your idea for funding the government?
  
  How about wealth taxes instead. You know, like what we're already doing with property taxes?
  
  Income taxes disproportionately affect the poorest in society.
  
  To cut spending back to the point that the federal government can balance it's budget without income tax revenue.
- Permanently Deleted
  
  A moron... sure, but uninformed, absolutely not.
  
  I've been on this earth long enough to realize that income taxes are penalties on the working class for being too poor to make their money from investments or inheritance.
- How you gonna pay for roads?
  
  The income tax has dick all to do with roads
  
  Permanently Deleted
- Income tax is just a fine charged on the company for having employees. It's not taken from you, it's taken from them.
  
  Yes because companies never pass on revenue loss to their employees
  
  You can certainly tell you don't work. Income tax is taken from both you and your employer. Your employer matches what you pay.
  
  That's not true. Income is taxed against the individual. Employers are required to withhold income taxes in many cases, but it's not "a fine charged on the company." It is a tax on the individual's income, withheld from the individual.

You've viewed 68 comments.