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Well, this could appeal to some people.

I would be reluctant to let the IRS do my tax returns, because I know I’m entitled to certain deductions and exemptions under the law. I don’t think the average IRS bureaucrat who would oversee your returns is aware of many of them. Bottom line — you would end up paying more in tax than you do now, unless you and/or your CPA claim said deductions/exemptions. Bottom line is that it could still be well worth it to pay a good CPA to prepare your returns, and risk an audit, rather than let the IRS do it.

I don’t think the average IRS bureaucrat who would oversee your returns is aware of many of them.

A few years ago, I had a complicated tax question that local accountants and lawyers couldn’t answer. (Stepson left some insurance money to his Nicaraguan maid in Costa Rica. Insurance company took its sweet time paying off—so much time that the gift earned interest, but the company couldn’t pay the claim unless the beneficiary had a SSN, which of course the maid didn’t.)

So I went to the local IRS office where the the local agent had deer-the-headlights look when I explained the problem. He suggested I call the IRS 800 number and ask for an international tax expert. After being on hold for the better part of an hour a very nice lady, who claimed to be the int’l tax expert said she had never heard of such a thing and basically said she was sorry but she couldn’t help me. She did point me to some PDFs about applying for a taxpayer ID number.

What made it all the more frustrating was the amount of interest was too small to pay tax on in any case but high enough to,require the number to get the check. After months where the maid had to make two trips to the US embassy in Costa Rica we finally were able to get the poor woman her money.

I don’t want these people figuring my taxes for me.

I agree people should have the option to file their own returns with whatever advice they choose to seek, but the option to file online would be nice; the whole pseudo-industry built up around income taxes is makework. CPAs themselves don’t get that designation for working with taxes, but with auditing publicly traded firms; H&R Block’s help wanted ads don’t even mention it (or even college, for that matter). If someone is comfortable with a CPA, that is fine; other people may not want to pay to use a firm’s software to file online, and they shouldn’t have to if the government could easily set it up.

Here in NJ many people can file their state income taxes through the state website; a nice option (not a requirement).