Oh yea, it comes with a 14 page PDF in small print that tells you what each field contains using the most obtuse verbiage. Then with a simple click of a button it does simple arithmetic to calculate all the numbers you plug in. But you don’t have any help on deductions. Is a thrift savings plan a Roth? Depends on when the savings plan gets taxed. Is it taxed? When i put money in or pull money out, but before or after i turn retirement age, which goes up every few years. Input all the taxes you didn’t pay by buying things online. Does livelihood depend on tips for some ungodly reason? Hope you did well because the government kinda just averages a guess how much you should be tipped. For the love of god don’t add BA though BH unless something you would know when if so. And that’s the 1040ez
I suppose that’s a pain, but even the countries where most people just sign off their taxes in an online wizard have the same complications. If you use financial products with complicated tax exemptions, you’ll have to fill in forms. With unregistered income like tips, there is simply no way the government can do this stuff for you, unless all tips are digital and tracked by the government (which most people don’t want, because who really pays full tax over their tips lol).
I personally don’t have these difficulties, but only because none of my savings accounts are exempted with special rules, other than the pension plan (which I’ll be paying tax over the moment I start using it, assuming the pension system doesn’t collapse before then). There’s a flat threshold, and if you have more saving than that (I think it’s 40k?) you start paying a wealth tax.
If you do any stock trading, your broker will probably send you the stuff you need for filing taxes, but you’ll have to fill out the forms or check the assumptions the government made (they like to assume a higher profit margin than you actually got}.
I don’t think many Americans would be very happy if your tax system would be changed to allow for the kind of easy filing we have. Most people would start paying more taxes and the estimates would be higher (meaning you get a higher tax return but less money month to month).
… sort of … we can do it for free now instead of having to pay a tax preparer but there’s still the matter of having to fill out all the paperwork – we haven’t reached the stage of the rest of the world of just signing the pre-filled tax bill
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Oh yea, it comes with a 14 page PDF in small print that tells you what each field contains using the most obtuse verbiage. Then with a simple click of a button it does simple arithmetic to calculate all the numbers you plug in. But you don’t have any help on deductions. Is a thrift savings plan a Roth? Depends on when the savings plan gets taxed. Is it taxed? When i put money in or pull money out, but before or after i turn retirement age, which goes up every few years. Input all the taxes you didn’t pay by buying things online. Does livelihood depend on tips for some ungodly reason? Hope you did well because the government kinda just averages a guess how much you should be tipped. For the love of god don’t add BA though BH unless something you would know when if so. And that’s the 1040ez
I suppose that’s a pain, but even the countries where most people just sign off their taxes in an online wizard have the same complications. If you use financial products with complicated tax exemptions, you’ll have to fill in forms. With unregistered income like tips, there is simply no way the government can do this stuff for you, unless all tips are digital and tracked by the government (which most people don’t want, because who really pays full tax over their tips lol).
I personally don’t have these difficulties, but only because none of my savings accounts are exempted with special rules, other than the pension plan (which I’ll be paying tax over the moment I start using it, assuming the pension system doesn’t collapse before then). There’s a flat threshold, and if you have more saving than that (I think it’s 40k?) you start paying a wealth tax.
If you do any stock trading, your broker will probably send you the stuff you need for filing taxes, but you’ll have to fill out the forms or check the assumptions the government made (they like to assume a higher profit margin than you actually got}.
I don’t think many Americans would be very happy if your tax system would be changed to allow for the kind of easy filing we have. Most people would start paying more taxes and the estimates would be higher (meaning you get a higher tax return but less money month to month).
… sort of … we can do it for free now instead of having to pay a tax preparer but there’s still the matter of having to fill out all the paperwork – we haven’t reached the stage of the rest of the world of just signing the pre-filled tax bill