Would it be wrong to make tax reporting online only?

[Isaac]

To clarify, I meant, would it be wrong to retire every 1040 (and all its version), 1065, 1120, and every other tax form and make all online-reporting only?

A bit of info you should be aware of:

There are already third party sites that handle returns for a price. They can also handle tax payments for individuals and corporations. What I'm suggesting is making irs.gov the last tax site you'll ever need.

An argument against this is "My taxes are way too complicated to be done online. What would we do if a site was lacking a section we'd need? We'd get penalized for not making the correct report." The IRS is aware of every kind of tax form it receives and the rules around them.

Another thing to think about is, the IRS likes third parties handling their web reports, because they can't be at fault for mistakes done by a third party. Making the irs.gov site be the only way to report would make the IRS liable for errors on this system, moving the blame from the individual to the government entity.

How would it work?

"Set it and forget it" or enter the numbers in manually.

1099s and W2s would be phased out and instead, links between individuals would be made through tax user accounts on the IRS page. If you are an employee all the information needed will be reported by your employer already, as it currently is done. Interest accruing accounts would also be linked, for live reporting, or entered in manually as per the date at the end of the reporting period.

The interface would focus on being intuitive and require minimal data to be entered in by the taxpayer; it wouldn't resemble paper documents.

It would also allow you to access your entire tax history and give a list of entities trying to gain access to parts of your tax history, which you can approve or reject, without ever having to print out a transcript.

There's a lot I haven't covered, but this should be enough to argue against or for this change.

[woodchip]

What about people who don't have a computer ?

[Isaac]

Your local tax preparer would probably charge to use his computer (he'd probably do the process for you for $50), but its an option. One of many...

[Foil]

You can answer this question by asking, "why do so many people still use paper forms?".

[Isaac]

Different reasons, however it always comes down to preference. Currently, efiling will always cost more than doing a paper return, so a lot of people just do it that way for that reason; get the 1040 fill it out and mail it with any W2s or 1099s with irs withholding. "OP's" suggestion would pretty much eliminate the direct cost of filing for the taxpayer.

[callmeslick]

You can answer this question by asking, "why do so many people still use paper forms?".

I'm one. Now, I stopped, last year, doing my taxes....the complexity has gotten too much for me, and I had to revise 2 of the prior 3 years. However, if I can my info hacked from a freaking Target or UPS store, I don't want anyone out there with the chance to mass-distribute my IRS info.

[Tunnelcat]

Additionally, only the simple 1040 form can be filed electronically for free. Any other tax return that requires the attachment of other schedule forms requires that the user pay a third party to file. What a rip. I'm not going to pay someone just for the privilege of electronically filing my stupid taxes, especially after I went through the trouble of filling them out myself in the first place.

[Will Robinson]

I don't think the paper forms protect your info. It merely delays the the time frame in which the irs ultimately puts it online for you...

Edward Snowden probably has your tax info slick.

[Isaac]

I don't want anyone out there with the chance to mass-distribute my IRS info.

That's actually the problem we have right now. The current method puts too much of your information on different forms, which go to the SSA, you, your employer, and the IRS.

The beauty of "OP's" idea is that your personal info, which you wouldn't want an identity thief getting, would be secured on the IRS server. Your employer wouldn't need your social; what would be connected between reporting entities would be just the information being reported and your online IRS user id. All connection would require confirmation by the Taxpayer on their IRS account.