[kazinator]

> if the two disagree

If the two disagree in a calculation matter, the calculations spelled out in the tax form should be upheld as the gold standard as to which side made the calculation error.

> they had both erroneously tried to apply capital gains tax where it didn't apply at all

Was this issue due to paper tax forms doing a calculation one way, but the IRS's implementation doing it another way?

Most recently, I screwed up by claiming a credit that was not allowed. However, the conditions for it are documented; I was wrong. This is where code could help, in order to clarify obtuse language in the requirements. Obviously, the government runs code which checks the conditions that determine whether a nonzero amount can be claimed in some field, so it's just another calculation. Still, it would be better for that to be crystal clear pseudo-code and not the fragment of some actual implementation.

[santraginean]

> the tax form should be upheld as the gold standard

Should, yeah.

> Was this issue due to paper tax forms doing a calculation one way, but the IRS's implementation doing it another way?

No, it was straight up wrong, and could only have been human error. As far as I can make out, their calculation only made sense if you took the full printed tax return and lost the back half of it. (And also ignored the part of the law that says capital gains tax doesn’t apply if you lived in a home more than two years before selling).