Show HN: ustaxes.org – open-source tax filing webapp

465 点作者 aidangrimshaw超过 4 年前

37 条评论

vages超过 4 年前

Related fun (and sad) fact: In Norway, the tax submission forms are online and so user friendly that you don't need a tax filing program like this. Edit: Here is a link to an explanation for the form, in English, which was revamped in 2020: <a href="https://www.skatteetaten.no/en/person/taxes/tax-return/tax-return-person/new-tax-return/" rel="nofollow">https://www.skatteetaten.no/en/person/taxes/tax-return/tax-r...</a>The submission form is essentially a wizard that asks you questions related to your situation and your past year. Depending on your answers, it expands different parts of the form. Other parts, such as tax exempt donations are automatically filled out based on information that the recipients filled out for you.I visited the UX department of the Norwegian equivalent to the IRS (Skatteetaten), and they had almost every device you could think of (eye-tracking being the most fun). No wonder they made good forms.I understand that some people object politically to taxes, but as long as it's one of the certainties of life (death being the other), I cannot understand why filling out the submission seems so hard in most countries...

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thanksforfish超过 4 年前

This is really cool, and I'd like to encourage work like this. I currently don't think I can recommend this to others because:It isn't immediately obvious who is running the site. whois info lists a Canadian privacy company. The site doesn't have an about page. Github has contributor info, which may help. Tax returns need to be private and accurate. If it's hard to verify that the authors are even in the US, it's had to know if this is a scam.I think the project is still young, and the above is likely something addressable. Partnering with some accountants may be a way to fund further development/maintenance through referrals. Good luck!

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wiml超过 4 年前

For the past ~decade I've mostly been using OpenTaxSolver, a file-based open source US tax utility. It's worked for my uses.It'd be appealing to try to factor out the underlying translation of the tax code and IRS form layout into some very simple DSL that could be used by multiple kinds of software.

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pwg超过 4 年前

Related project:OpenTaxSolver (<a href="http://opentaxsolver.sourceforge.net/" rel="nofollow">http://opentaxsolver.sourceforge.net/</a>):OpenTaxSolver (OTS) is a free, safe + secure program for calculating Tax Form entries for Federal and State personal income taxes. It automatically fills-out and prints your forms.I've used OTS for the last three or four years now to do my taxes, it does work for the task.

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TZVdosOWs3kZHus超过 4 年前

In Germany the official application to submit your taxes as a private person to the state has been a windows application for years. Using the app was a 1:1 copy of the official paper forms. Disregarding the complexity of the german tax law, you had a reference to the papers. So it was kind of easy to use the digital counterpart one was accustomed to.It was disimproved by hauling it into a web app, which breaks with all the usual connections you built with the paper equivalent and is the most UX unfriendly monstrosity one could create. From this year on you HAVE TO USE IT. I deeply disrespect this regression, which forces many people into paying a tax office for their private tax submission.I wish for a swedish/norwegian system, where the state courts you for YOUR money. I don't know a single person in Germany which states: "I love doing my tax submissions!"EDIT: Typos plus last paragraph

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petethepig超过 4 年前

I once tried to model tax forms as code and one thing I learned is that using observable / computable model (as in mobX / knockout.js) works pretty well for computing tax.For example:<pre><code> this.totalDeductions = this.computed(() => { return this.isItemizing() ? this.itemizedDeductionsAdjusted() : this.standardDeduction(); }).form("f1040-131"); // 131 is reference to a field on the tax form this.afterDeductions = this.computed(() => { return this.adjustedGrossIncome() - this.totalDeductions(); }).form("f1040-133") </code></pre> The other thing I learned is that taxes are ridiculously complex.

adsharma超过 4 年前

Computing taxNoticed this comment.<a href="https://github.com/thegrims/UsTaxes/blob/master/src/irsForms/F1040.ts#L235" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/thegrims/UsTaxes/blob/master/src/irsForms...</a>I wrote some python a few years ago for this purpose<a href="https://github.com/adsharma/tax" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/adsharma/tax</a>

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jamexcb超过 4 年前

In Portugal, because everything you buy you need to provide your VAT number, even if you buy one coffee. And all medical are also electronic. And your employer also submit all the money you earn. Taxes are automatic. You just need to review and add extra stuff if needed. It takes about 10/15 min to do. Of course there are exceptions!

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eralps超过 4 年前

This is a cool project. As a user entering information in a pdf file with hundreds of input boxes stresses me. Hiding the document until after I enter all the information makes it easier to file tax.But it would not be feasible to use this for most of the people. Tax is often vastly complex and it ignores all those parts. I don't have any capital gain, any properties or any uncommon income such as from rent but even for me this would not work because I get 1099-INT forms from bank (for 1.25$) and there is only W2 option under income.I am also a nonresident so I need to use 1040NR another block there but I am not even talking about that.

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0xbadcafebee超过 4 年前

I like the code of conduct. If you can get a contibutor's guide and TODO list up, I'd bet you can get a couple contributors (especially around tax season). If it ends up covering a lot of the tax code in a few years, maybe the US Digital Service would consider hosting it.I like that it's all browser-based, but the problem is that I, the user, have no way of actually guaranteeing it's not POSTing somewhere else. It's the same problem with browser JS crypto. So I would suggest that in addition to a note explaining how no personal data leaves their browser, also link to a guide on how to download and run it on a local computer. (Is it possible to export a single .html or .js file that a user can open with their browser? And a SHA512 checksum to verify the file?)

m3kw9超过 4 年前

Not sure if you want to use the actual ustaxes.org website and input your real SSN without any security audits.

orblivion超过 4 年前

I've wondered why this didn't exist for a long time. I thought I heard something about an issue of liability in case some part of the process is incorrect, which the "Big Boys" (TurboTax etc) have worked around or priced into their business model.At any rate, I'm grateful, and I will consider using this. I may just have to find a way to doublecheck the work done.

rocketpastsix超过 4 年前

A few things:The title in the HTML is still "React App"There is very little information about this. Why should I trust this? I see the option to print, is that my only option?

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vxNsr超过 4 年前

Is this federal only or state as well?The readme and website appear to be kinda thin on details. Cool nonetheless.

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janwillemb超过 4 年前

In the Netherlands the tagline of the tax authorities used to be "we can't make it funnier, but we can make it easier". Most tax forms are online and pre-filled with data they already have. For most people it's probably a matter of minutes.

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spankalee超过 4 年前

How would you know that a project like this is computing taxes correctly?

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suyash超过 4 年前

Ok how do you do state taxes in this? I don't see California option. Also no privacy policy on the hosted one, you really think people will trust giving their sensitive information like that?

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maelito超过 4 年前

If you read french or want to dive in the mostly english code, you can fork <a href="https://github.com/betagouv/mon-entreprise" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/betagouv/mon-entreprise</a>.It doesn't fill tax forms, but it's a set of simulations and a framework to write more models and generate UIs automatically.

mrwnmonm超过 4 年前

I have a company in the US, I was going to avoid paying taxes this year, because I found the process hard and actually we don't have enough money. But as I understand it, you need to work with an accountant, and you need someone to fill it for you if you are outside of the US. Can you fill it online in the US?

privatenumber超过 4 年前

Filing taxes is a solved problem in many countries so it's very disappointing it's still so difficult to do in the US. I'm glad to see open source engineers taking matters into their own hands to disrupt this corrupt industry.If milestones and a growth path can be clearly planned and communicated, I think many people would happily chip in to help fund a project like this.Something like this page would be nice: <a href="https://k9mail.app/2021/02/14/K-9-Mail-is-looking-for-funding" rel="nofollow">https://k9mail.app/2021/02/14/K-9-Mail-is-looking-for-fundin...</a>

CameronNemo超过 4 年前

Are there plans for a matrix or checklist for supporting different income types, forms, or some other way to measure support levels?Looks like you are using typescript React here. Any driver for that choice?

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BrandoElFollito超过 4 年前

In France you get online taxes per-filled with all information. It covers almost all the cases (including when you hire someone to help you at home) so for 99.999% of the popolation it is a matter of 5 clucks, for z total of 2 minutes to fill in your taxes.I actually do not understand why this is not automatic. If you have a special case you would need to act, otherwise it accepts by default.I read a few times about the lobby of tax software companies in the US, it is really weird that they can get away with such practices.

breck超过 4 年前

Love it!I have a technology that will be really useful for disrupting tax filing in USA.Basic pitch is here: <a href="https://github.com/breck7/copypastetaxes" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/breck7/copypastetaxes</a>I'd be interesting in talking about some type of collaboration if you're interested in chatting! Email is in profile.

dave333超过 4 年前

What I hate about the US system is every year I have to convert my brokerage tax statement into a schedule D line by line or the IRS duns me because they only know my stock sales, not my purchases, which is nuts.

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geogra4超过 4 年前

I'm happy paying the modest fee for taxact. I do agree America has such an annoying tax system though. Why am I filling out forms if the irs already has this information!

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jhabdas超过 4 年前

Suggestion: Add support for Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. If the trend is remote work, focus on the remote workers who would prefer not to pay income taxes.

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radicalriddler超过 4 年前

I would recommend having some indicator on which sections of the tax form you've completed, as you're able to skip forward to different sections.

raverbashing超过 4 年前

Can anyone explain how the end wire-format works? Can I just fill an XML and POST it directly to some service (like I assume a paper form would work?)

greenpizza13超过 4 年前

Love it.True to form, it still has the title "React app." I personally have shipped things to production without changing the CRA boilerplate title :).

jl2718超过 4 年前

But good luck getting your returns received by the IRS in the mail. It was 6 months before I gave up and paid someone to e-file for me.

timoth3y超过 4 年前

Thank you for starting this.It's something that needs to exit!

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FlyMoreRockets大约 4 年前

Finally, a free to file tax form. The IRS should do this by default.

twistel超过 4 年前

Software for the people!

known超过 4 年前

Why not print dollars (with expiry date) instead of taxes <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency_in_circulation#Total_currency_in_circulation" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency_in_circulation#Total_...</a>

ketamine__超过 4 年前

Turbo Tax has a limit on number of trades. And takes a long time to process them. Are they sleep'ing a lot or does it really take a minute for 100 trades?I'm wondering if this can be improved. Especially for cryptocurrency processing. The cryptocurrency tax solutions are woefully inadequate. I was surprised considering how much marketing and polish they have.

hahahahe超过 4 年前

Remember when Trump promised we can file our taxes via postcard?I remember.

jfc_taxman超过 4 年前

imagine submitting your social security number and sensitive PII to a website that was created during covid 2020-05-10T08:44:50Z which doesn't have a contact us page even if it is all in browser. is this a business? do they have insurance?

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