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posted by martyb on Tuesday March 12 2019, @03:45AM   Printer-friendly
from the death-and-taxes dept.

"...Filing your taxes has never been faster or easier, especially if you do it online....the DIY approach may cost little or nothing....Most of us prefer free software..." foxnews.com/tech/best-tax-software-to-use-in-2019

This one is a little like the Emmys. "Best site for DIY tax prep" is TurboTax. "Best online tax site if you need a little help" is H&R Block. "Best site for earning bonus points" is TaxAct. "Best tax prep site to protect your identity" is TaxSlayer. "Best tax site for experienced DIY-ers" is Jackson Hewitt.

And for those that are wondering, I do pay taxes. As little as possible!


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  • (Score: 4, Informative) by darkfeline on Tuesday March 12 2019, @04:16AM (8 children)

    by darkfeline (1030) on Tuesday March 12 2019, @04:16AM (#813066) Homepage

    The only reason US taxes are so complicated is that TurboTax bribes the government to not reform taxes, because their entire business depends on taxes being too complicated for the average person to understand.

    FreeTaxUSA is recommended on Reddit. It's better than TurboTax in some places and worse in others. They only charge 13 USD for filing state taxes and 7 USD for audit protection (no secret extra fees), they have a spanking good privacy policy, and they even support real two factor authentication.

    And at the end of the day, even if it were objectively worse, as long as it's good enough I'll take it, because FUCK TURBOTAX IN THE ANUS WITH A TOILET CLEANING BRUSH.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 12 2019, @05:04AM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 12 2019, @05:04AM (#813078)

    The only reason US taxes are so complicated is that TurboTax bribes the government to not reform taxes, because their entire business depends on taxes being too complicated for the average person to understand.

    That, and "fuck you, that's why". It's not like you have a choice whether to jump through whatever hoops the IRS wants you to.

    • (Score: 4, Interesting) by darkfeline on Tuesday March 12 2019, @08:50AM (2 children)

      by darkfeline (1030) on Tuesday March 12 2019, @08:50AM (#813134) Homepage

      There is a a choice, since the US is a kind of democracy. Well, if you ignore the legalized bribery called lobbying, anyway.

      It's a secret to everybody that every time there's a bill to improve tax filing, some companies pay a lot of money and the bill goes away. Just search "tax lobbying" and you'll see dozens of articles coming out of the woodwork around this time of the year, every year.

      https://www.propublica.org/article/filing-taxes-could-be-free-simple-hr-block-intuit-lobbying-against-it [propublica.org]

      There is not a single person who is against simplifying tax filing, including all Congress members. Except, of course, the tax preparation software companies.

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      • (Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Tuesday March 12 2019, @05:20PM (1 child)

        by bzipitidoo (4388) on Tuesday March 12 2019, @05:20PM (#813367) Journal

        I realized this a long time ago. Over a decade ago, tax programs were bombarding users with all kinds of propaganda. Very irritating how thick they laid it on. "Taxes are haaard!! But look how eaaasy our Tax Software makes it! Did you know it's a felony for getting your taxes wrong? But if you use our software, we assume all liability for any mistakes. Be afraid, be very very afraid!" It's so simple. Be a real shame if you tried to do your taxes yourself, made a little mistake, and the IRS seized all your money and you ended up in jail.

        I think many are aware that tax prep companies are total parasites who work against the public interest, but most people have bigger problems to worry about.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 13 2019, @01:03AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 13 2019, @01:03AM (#813537)

          You should read their terms and waivers. None of the software makers assume legal liability for their software making mistakes. The dead giveaway is the fact that they don't sign your returns, which is the act that would make them assume such liability. Instead, they have "guarantees," which are purely contingent on the information you provide. The only thing they could get hit on under those agreements is if the software though 2+2=5, and even in those situations, that would probably be an error somewhere else in the stack, so even then they aren't responsible to reimburse you.

  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday March 12 2019, @08:48AM (1 child)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday March 12 2019, @08:48AM (#813132) Journal

    and they even support real two factor authentication

    If it's real, it means it's more irrational than otherwise. I wouldn't even thing to start a-counting 'em, 'cause you can't count on irrationals.

    Just sayin'

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  • (Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Wednesday March 13 2019, @02:52AM (1 child)

    by bzipitidoo (4388) on Wednesday March 13 2019, @02:52AM (#813568) Journal

    Yeah, Intuit, the owners of Turbo Tax, are scum. Lobbying is not the only thing they've done. In 2003, they used DRM that messed with the data at the start of the hard drive. There was a huge outcry at the time, and Intuit had to make changes.

    • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Wednesday March 13 2019, @04:29AM

      by krishnoid (1156) on Wednesday March 13 2019, @04:29AM (#813585)

      They never tried to bring that back, though. I bet people would leave for good if they even hinted at it, now that there are multiple competing options.