GitHub - IRS-Public/direct-file: Direct File
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  • bdonvr@thelemmy.clubEnglish
    9 months

    It sounds like this could be functional?

    Taxpayers’ answers are then translated into standard tax forms and transmitted to the IRS’s Modernized e-File (MeF) API, which is available for authorized public use.

    It would need to be kept updated with changing laws but could we see forks turn into a FOSS tax prep software?

    • neon_nova@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      10 months

      I don’t think it’s a bad thing.

      As you may know, due to lobbying from tax preparation companies, filing US taxes is extremely over complication and typically requires you to pay someone to do it.

      Even though I’ve done my own taxes in the past, I just paid someone else $300 to do it as it’s such a confusing nightmare of paperwork.

      Well, the IRS had a program that let you file for free if you met certain conditions. Basically, the average American that is low income could just go through the IRS website to very easily file their taxes.

      The current administration got rid of that program. It looks like someone posted the source code that was used to file your taxes.

      I guess someone could modify this code so it could be used in a limited way in the future, but it would require constant updates as the tax code changes.

      • scott@lemmy.orgEnglish
        9 months

        Yeah but changes to the tax code are incremental. If this contains a foundation-layer framework for calculating taxes, it’s a huge bootstrap to just do the YoY changes as opposed to building up.that foundation.

    • chemical_cutthroat@lemmy.worldEnglish
      10 months

      It’s good in a sense that we can look over the code for any tomfoolery, but unless there is a smoking gun, it’s pretty worthless because it’s closed source by nature, and any changes they make won’t be published. Still, code nerds gonna code nerd.

      • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
        9 months

        Everything the US Federal government produces is Public Domain, by law.

          • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
            9 months

            Public Domain meets the OSI’s definition of “open source” and the FSF’s definition of “Free Software.” What you’re describing is the state of it not being published yet.

            • chemical_cutthroat@lemmy.worldEnglish
              9 months

              You are correct. I guess what I should have said is that this is what they want us to see, no necessarily what they are using.

  • sfcl33t@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    10 months

    It looks like a legit distribution too, they removed sensitive code and rewrote functionality for this release

  • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    9 months

    They will change something meaningless, yet fundamental about how taxes are filed, simply to render this source code useless. Watch.