[tshaddox]

> There is a contingent of Congress that does not want to make tax preparation easier because it aligns with their narrative that taxes are bad. The more painful tax preparation is, the more sympathy they find with this narrative.

And yet we have paycheck withholding, which seems to be a relatively complex system and is also the thing that makes actually paying your taxes easy.

[Guvante]

That isn't what paycheck withholding is at all.

Paycheck withholding guarantees you pay your taxes.

Can't forget to file if you already paid all your taxes ahead of time.

[ethbr1]

Also, it shifts the responsibility for the mechanics of income tax payment from individuals to businesses.

Which... I can see an argument for. Especially when coupled with regular payments vs end-of-year.

It's silly for everyone to individually have to think about "How do I get these dollars to the IRS?" all during the year.

[Guvante]

Paycheck withholding is good.

It just isn't designed to makes things easier. That is a happenstance (if you don't do withholding you submit quarterly estimate payments which while annoying isn't much harder than tax season)

It is designed to minimize the IRSs job by focusing on businesses rather than individuals for the bulk of taxes.

[googlryas]

The US system is pay as you go, so it is just paying taxes on time, not ahead of time. Tax day is just the date when all your accounts are supposed to be settled up for the year.

[Guvante]

Ahead of time in this context is before filing your taxes. Certainly waiting until the EOY isn't allowed but since estimated taxes are due quarterly for individuals who don't get a W2 it isn't that different.

My point wasn't "you paid early" but "by the time you fill out you already paid"

[candiddevmike]

Estimated withholdings are even worse IMO, especially for variable 1099 income.

"How much should I pay?"

"Enough"

"What if I don't pay enough"

"We'll fine you"

"What if I pay too much?"

"We'll refund you, in a year"

[jstarfish]

Eh, I forgot to file state taxes one year and they spent the next 3 harassing me about it and threatening me with fines. I continued to ignore it out of sheer laziness (was a trivial amount since I was underemployed) and eventually they garnished my wages for what was owed. It was unexpected and harsh; 25% skimmed off every check.

...but--and I don't know where the fault here lies--payroll garnished too much. Pay remained 25% less than it should be and my employer's hands were tied unless I had release forms faxed over, and then I had to go harass the state for a refund. Meanwhile, my autopay regimen was disrupted so some bills were going unpaid. But they were more responsible than I was and paid out in 4-6 weeks as promised.

All the time I didn't spend just sitting down and paying the taxes, I ended up spending on phone hold trying to reclaim overpayments and reactivate services. Would have been easier to just pay the taxes in the first place.

[lmwnshn]

For an eh in the other direction: I overpaid PA state taxes in 2020 by a decent chunk. The last time I called, they said that they're still processing amended returns from 2019 (which you can verify by going to their "Where's my refund" page and looking at the year dropdown).