GovHelp: I Hate Filing Taxes...So How Do We Fix the Process?
I just finished filing my taxes this weekend. I used TurboTax for the second year in a row. While it was a bit less onerous than filling out a form by hand (which I did for the first several years) and a whole lot less expensive than hiring an accountant (which I've also done), I still find the entire process cumbersome and confusing. All the separate pieces of paper that can easily get lost, the little boxes that you have to decipher like hieroglyphic code...it just makes for a super unpleasant process.
So, in the spirit of similar GovHelps - like "Don't Let the US Postal Service Die!" and "Stop Complaining About Your Local DMV. How Would You Improve It?" - I've got a question for you:
How would you improve our tax filing process?
Is there a way to make it more web-based (i.e. like having all my forms sent to one secure, password-protected, IRS-hosted place that's tied to my Social Security or Passport numbers?)
What's your experience with filing...and moments of epiphany (read: slapping your forehead and saying "Why do we still do it this way?")?
Maybe we can send your tips and suggestions over to the IRS for them to consider in their strategic planning...
P.S. And if you haven't filed yet, you better get on it! 5 days and counting! ;-)
Tags: GovHelp, IRS, Internal Revenue Service, taxes
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Sam Allgood on -
I just did mine this weekend, also. I find it less tedious being able to do it online and not having to deal with handling the hard-copy forms and mailing all that stuff. I have never hired anyone to do mine and have always wondered why so many people with a simple return like mine pay someone else to fill out the forms for them. In my opinion, its not that hard ... it's just tedious and takes time to get all the necessary documentation organized.
I also like the way that the online systems (I used TaxACT Online) walk you through each part and help to remind you of deductions you might not remember ... I almost forgot to claim the new energy-efficient gas furnace that I had installed last January ... added $600 to my refund (8=:{}).
I do wait a little longer for a mailed refund rather than direct deposit since I learned that allowing someone access for direct deposit automatically authorizes them to directly withdraw without request/notification to you. That one bit me a few years ago when my mother died and SSA both requested return of her last SS payment and withdrew it from her account even though we wrote them a check in response to their request.
-
Permalink Reply by Andrew Krzmarzick on -
Yeah - not hard...just a million questions and nuances!
-
Permalink Reply by Peter Sperry on -
I switched from paper to Tax Cut software and online filing almost as soon as they became available and honestly, doing my taxes hasn't been that big a chore for many years. I just save the relevant paperwork, answer the questions on the screen, hit transmit and check my bank account for the EFT of my refund a week later.
Nevertheless, I kind of miss the late filling parties at the post office. All of them were open till midnight April 15th and most had some sort of celebration. Alexandria used to have a postal worker dressed as Uncle Sam collecting returns outside and not uncommonly there would be flag shaped cakes and occaisionly adult beverages. It added a kind of patriotic feel to paying income taxes.
-
Permalink Reply by GovLoop on -
TurboTaxes of the world have gotten a little better in terms of importing all the paperwork you need W2 and 1099 etc. However it is still hard enough that I don't do it
To me that would be the key - automatically importing the key information that is already in all the systems (W2, 1099, etc)
Second - I think there is great opportunity to do customer service over the web. There's a lot of the same FAQ and I think it would be great to have a @comcastcares IRS workforce answer questions across multiple mechanisms (chat, FB, Twitter, email) - basically more than just phone
-
Permalink Reply by Jeff Ribeira on -
As a "younger" person with a relatively simple financial/investment flow, I still have yet to have a tax experience where I've just thrown up my hands in frustration (it also doesn't hurt to have a father-in-law who is a CPA...). But I will admit, even with things like Turbo Tax, etc. the whole process does still seem a bit archaic. If there were a completely secure way of doing it all online with, as Steve said, being able to access all the necessary forms in a database, I'd definitely go for that.
On the bright side, at least we've got it a little better than old Homer here :)
-
Permalink Reply by Bryan Conway JD, PMP on -
In law school, I took a 4 credit course on Income Tax Law. The textbook was the 1,000+ page government issued tax regs- it was one of the most miserable classes I've ever taken! Tax software cuts through a lot of the insanity, but I would encourage anyone that believes that our tax system isn't a complete mess to thumb through the tax regs and try to make sense of it all. Someone needs to take a machete to this system (replacing it with a flat tax or national sales tax), but then what would tax attorneys do for a living??
-
Permalink Reply by John Evans on -
As an IRS employee, I can answer some of these questions and I have a few suggestions. The agency's budget simply does not allow for customer service across multiple interfaces. Also, there are disclosure risks involved. For these reasons, I highly doubt any interfaces other than telephone and walk-in office will be utilized. We are grossly understaffed at both the walk-in offices ( where I currently work) and the toll-free call centers ( where I began my IRS career). Also, your W-2's and 1099's are NOT in our systems yet. Those are typically forwarded form Social Security in June or July. I file my own returns using tax software, and agree it's not that hard. I filed my returns myself before working for IRS, and never had a hard time. All it takes is persistence and careful attention to the instructions. I find the myriad of special breaks and exemptions incorporated into the tax code troublesome. My suggestions would be to simplify the tax code by eliminating most credits and deductions, and raising the rates of the two highest brackets.
-
Permalink Reply by Andrea Gil de Montes on -
why not, instead of raising the rates of the two highest brackets, who pay the most amount of taxes into the system, we establish a flat tax. That way, the "highest brackets" will still be paying the most out of everyone, but everyone else will have to contribute for all the social benefits they get as well!
-
Permalink Reply by Bill Brantley on -
I am really enjoying Reality is Broken and it is gaming theory that inspired the following two suggestions:
1) A large source of frustration is when you have to deal with all of the paperwork that you collected throughout the year and then try to make sense of in a single weekend. Why not create a website or desktop application where you enter your records in as they happen? To encourage you to enter your records you can gain points that you can trade in for tax credits and chances in a contest where the grand prize winner does not have to pay their taxes that year.
2) A program where you can opt-out of calculating your taxes. The IRS will just send you a bill based on a statistical analysis of what a person in your income bracket would ordinarily pay. If you agree with the figure then you can just pay the bill or accept the offered refund. If not, then you can calculate your taxes as you ordinarily would.
Bill Brantley
-
Permalink Reply by Andrew Krzmarzick on
-
On 1) - I want this automated! Period. No more paperwork...this should all be digital at this point. If we have software like Mint.com which can suck in all your financial information from multiple institutions, there is NO good reason for something like it not being available, eh?
-
Permalink Reply by Shannon Donelson on -
I agree with Jeff. As a young person starting my career, the tax process is extremely daunting. Filling out the forms isn't too hard, but knowing the best practices for getting the most out of a return (like the energy efficient furnace Sam mentioned) is key to successfully completing one's taxes.
My best recommendation: Have two IRS retirees for parents. Thankfully I'm set on taxes for life.
-
Permalink Reply by Stephen Peteritas on -
What if the government made a super easy tax software like a tubro tax and everyone filed through that. Because it would be in house it would probably cut down on a lot of the errors and headache and searching around different sites for every little piece of info. Plus then they could charge for it (even though what you spend of taxes is write offable). Just a thought
Tools & Resources
© 2012 Created by GovLoop.
