TAX FILING IN THE US

IDENTITY THEFT TAX SCAMS

A common scam has bad guys filing "your" taxes before you do and claiming a refund. To prevent this, the IRS offers an Identity Protection PIN. In the early years, the IRS would provide a PIN only to someone who had already suffered an identity theft. Now (June 2023), anyone can proactively request one. Once you are grooved into this IRS system, the IRS will mail you a PIN (postal mail, hard copy) each January. You then include it with your tax return. More here: Get An Identity Protection PIN

SCAMS REGARDING FILING FOR FREE

Many developed countries allow most citizens to file their taxes for free. In the US, this was the stated intent, but the scheme was corrupted. According to Pro Publica, TurboTax tricked customers into paying for tax preparation they could have gotten for free. TurboTax even has a service with the word "free" in it - that is/was not free. US taxpayers owe a debt to Pro Publica for their reporting on this.

May 4, 2023: States Prepare to Send Checks to Consumers Tricked Into Paying for TurboTax by Paul Kiel of Pro Publica. Quoting: "A year after a $141 million settlement with Intuit, the maker of TurboTax ... 4.4 million customers will receive compensation ... TurboTax for years lured consumers with the promise of 'free' tax filing and then deployed a range of tricks and traps to steer them to paying products."

• From the IRS: Some people can do their taxes online for free with an IRS Free File provider. See your options here: Free File: File Your Taxes Online for Free
• From the IRS: Free File: Do Your Federal Taxes for Free. As of Jan 13, 2023, it says: " You may file your federal individual income tax return for free using tax-preparation and filing software. Let IRS Free File do the hard work for you. Check back later in January to file using Free File Fillable Forms."
• From the IRS: IRS Free File Online: Lookup Tool is where you can find an IRS Free File provider.
• Don't overpay for help with your taxes by Ed Bott January 13, 2023. The big software companies really don't want you to find the IRS Free File page.
• How to File Your State and Federal Taxes for Free in 2021 by Kristen Doerer for ProPublica. March 17, 2021
• How to File Your State and Federal Taxes for Free in 2020 by Justin Elliott of ProPublica (Jan. 2020)
• The free TurboTax filing site is turbotax.intuit.com /taxfreedom

BACKGROUND

• IRS Reforms Free File Program, Drops Agreement Not to Compete With TurboTax by ProPublica (Dec. 2019). Shamed into acting, the IRS barred Inuit and other tax prep companies from hiding their free products from search engines.
• Inside TurboTax's 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans From Filing Their Taxes for Free by Pro Publica (October 2019)
• TurboTax Deliberately Hid Its Free File Page From Search Engines by ProPublica (April 2019). Quoting: "TurboTax uses deceptive design and misleading advertising to trick lower-income Americans into paying to file their taxes, even though they are eligible to do it for free."
• Here's How TurboTax Just Tricked You Into Paying to File Your Taxes by Pro Publica (April 2019). Not just Intuit, also H&R Block.