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0 pointstombert2y ago0 comments

Jackson Hewitt Online isn't terribly pricey (Cost me a total of about $25 last year), so that's what I've used for the last two years. Keep in mind that Jackson Hewitt Online is a different thing that the vanilla Jackson Hewitt

Still, I kind of feel annoyed that I have to pay any amount of money to do something legally required of me to avoid going to jail. I think the IRS should provide a free option for filing, and TurboTax/FreeTaxUSA/Jackson Hewitt would be forced to provide a better service than "the bare minimum".

0 comments

PaulDavisThe1st2y ago

FreeFillableForms (.com) is 100% free, has no income limits, has every IRS schedule & form.

It's basically backed by the IRS and implemented by Intuit et al, but appears independent.

It works a little better every year, but you do still have to manually carry over some numbers from form to form.

I've been using it for the last 8 years at least. I don't love it to death, but if it wasn't available I'd do my own paper forms anyway.

resoluteteeth2y ago

FreeFillableForms is basically like doing the paper forms by hand and it's much easier to make a mistake than using something like turbotax. I've used both that and the excel files at https://sites.google.com/view/incometaxspreadsheet/home in the past but I realized that the hassle if I screwed something up was much worse than paying for tax prep software.

I'm very glad that the IRS is going to be making something that's more comparable to turbotax now.

extraduder_ire2y ago

I think the URL is freefilefillableforms.com (note the "file", the "FreeFillableForms" domain is parked by someone) based on some light googling and a contact email I saw on the irs.gov site.

Glad a digital equivalent to paper forms exists, the US tax code is far less hellish than I previously believed.

singron2y ago

The actual tax code is still hellish. Physically filling out the forms is the easiest part. Figuring out what to put in the forms is all the effort. Each page of form usually has many pages of instructions, which are long and complicated because the tax code is long and complicated.

If you are a typical tech employee and have highish income, incentive stock options, interest, dividends, capital gains, etc. don't think you can use freefillableforms to do your taxes in a couple hours.

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loeg2y ago

You can fill out the forms manually for free? It just sucks.

II2II2y ago

It's not that it sucks, it is error prone. Completely ignore a knowledge of tax law for a moment. Data has to be copied from one form to another, copied for calculation (whether you do it on paper or with a calculator), copied from one line to another, and finally copied from the form into the government's tax software. Each step produces the potential for error. Properly written software does not have the same potential for error.

loeg2y ago

It sounds like you're agreeing with me that it sucks.

drdec2y ago

> Properly written software does not have the same potential for error.

To err is human, to really foul things up requires a computer.

As a user, how do you know that the tax software you are using was "properly written"?

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bluGill2y ago

I quit doing paper forms ~10 years ago when I missed coping line 12c from form 5678-e to line 34-f of form 9876-k. The hassle of correcting that was enough to make me quit doing taxes by hand.

It takes longer to do my taxes via the web forms than it did by hand (which says just how bad the UI of tax prep is!), but it saves me from human mistakes.

Note that the ISR already has all the information they need to do my taxes for me. They just don't do them.

tomcam2y ago

> it saves me from human mistakes

Not me! FreeFillableForms is apparently the last piece of software in the western world that doesn’t save your progress as you go. I found that out the hard way about three days ago and immediately switched to freetaxusa.

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callalex2y ago

I can also walk down to the nearby river to launder my clothes and carry back water to prepare food for my family. Instead we use technology to save time and improve our lives. That we continue to allow corrupt businesses to hold us back so a few people can extort/profit is a testament to our failed state.

tomcam2y ago

At least you live in an awesome neighborhood

tombertOP2y ago

I've thought about doing that before just to say that I've done it, but it always seemed a bit intimidating. I also have completely illegible handwriting now, so filling anything in by hand is effectively a non-starter.

loeg2y ago

You can fill in a PDF form rather than writing it by hand.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

PaulDavisThe1st2y ago

FreeFillableForms (.com) is 100% free, has no income limits, has every IRS schedule & form.

It's basically backed by the IRS and implemented by Intuit et al, but appears independent.

It works a little better every year, but you do still have to manually carry over some numbers from form to form.

I've been using it for the last 8 years at least. I don't love it to death, but if it wasn't available I'd do my own paper forms anyway.

resoluteteeth2y ago

I'm very glad that the IRS is going to be making something that's more comparable to turbotax now.

extraduder_ire2y ago

I think the URL is freefilefillableforms.com (note the "file", the "FreeFillableForms" domain is parked by someone) based on some light googling and a contact email I saw on the irs.gov site.

Glad a digital equivalent to paper forms exists, the US tax code is far less hellish than I previously believed.

singron2y ago

1 more reply

loeg2y ago

You can fill out the forms manually for free? It just sucks.

II2II2y ago

loeg2y ago

It sounds like you're agreeing with me that it sucks.

drdec2y ago

> Properly written software does not have the same potential for error.

To err is human, to really foul things up requires a computer.

As a user, how do you know that the tax software you are using was "properly written"?

1 more reply

bluGill2y ago

I quit doing paper forms ~10 years ago when I missed coping line 12c from form 5678-e to line 34-f of form 9876-k. The hassle of correcting that was enough to make me quit doing taxes by hand.

It takes longer to do my taxes via the web forms than it did by hand (which says just how bad the UI of tax prep is!), but it saves me from human mistakes.

Note that the ISR already has all the information they need to do my taxes for me. They just don't do them.

tomcam2y ago

> it saves me from human mistakes

1 more reply

callalex2y ago

tomcam2y ago

At least you live in an awesome neighborhood

tombertOP2y ago

loeg2y ago

You can fill in a PDF form rather than writing it by hand.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse