Re:Filing taxes: It shouldn't be so hard
by mixmastamyk on Wednesday April 03, 2013 @06:09PM
(#5489543)
To those who prefer manual filing, or think online filing is not practical, for at least second year California now promotes filing online. It's 2013 and only about 15 years late. Yes, they already have the information or will get it, so the privacy complaints are moot.
You log in to the website, and go through a 20 (or so) step wizard where you confirm or add a missing item, etc. Next, next, finish. Done, and entered into their system. No studying instructions, licking envelopes, buying stamps, or writing checks, waiting months for a refund, or any of that bs.
Meanwhile it's the Dark Ages over in IRS-land. Unless you want to type all your financial information into an unknown third-party site (I don't), you better get out your pencil and calculator, and/or enter it into a PDF for printing.
Not to mention wading thru 70 pages of useless instructions for the blind, disabled, parents, pensions, veterans, itemizing, AMT, self-employed, health savings accounts, paying alimony, etc, etc. You may be one of those, but likely not more than one or two. The rest are wasted time, energy, and cognitive load. Worksheets, schedules, forms++ that could be automated.
If it's not obvious I find the IRS process disgusting. To those that say it is the tax-code that is the problem, while partially true, doesn't take into account the wizard process. The wizard simply doesn't ask you for information that doesn't apply, e.g. if you have no kids it doesn't ask about child care credits. It makes the process much easier.
You log in to the website, and go through a 20 (or so) step wizard where you confirm or add a missing item, etc. Next, next, finish. Done, and entered into their system. No studying instructions, licking envelopes, buying stamps, or writing checks, waiting months for a refund, or any of that bs.
Meanwhile it's the Dark Ages over in IRS-land. Unless you want to type all your financial information into an unknown third-party site (I don't), you better get out your pencil and calculator, and/or enter it into a PDF for printing.
Not to mention wading thru 70 pages of useless instructions for the blind, disabled, parents, pensions, veterans, itemizing, AMT, self-employed, health savings accounts, paying alimony, etc, etc. You may be one of those, but likely not more than one or two. The rest are wasted time, energy, and cognitive load. Worksheets, schedules, forms++ that could be automated.
If it's not obvious I find the IRS process disgusting. To those that say it is the tax-code that is the problem, while partially true, doesn't take into account the wizard process. The wizard simply doesn't ask you for information that doesn't apply, e.g. if you have no kids it doesn't ask about child care credits. It makes the process much easier.