Your employer is required to submit the amount you were paid and the taxes that were withheld. The IRS knows how much you owe assuming that is your one source of income and you don’t have deductions beyond the standard.
Comment on Tax time
AmberPrince@kbin.social 11 months ago
How it actually works is that the IRS doesn't known how much you need to pay. You provide your income and taxes already paid throughout the year then the IRS says "yeah, looks about right for what you made" or here's money back you paid to much or didn't pay enough. It only gets complicated when you have huge amounts of money.
Mamertine@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Changetheview@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Exactly. The IRS has TONS of information on every individual and business. There may be some unreported items, but that’s the exception to the rule.
The IRS has a “transcript” with all of the many reported transactions associated with each person/entity. And you can request this transcript, which many people with complicated tax situations do so they can verify that everything is reported correctly and their records match the IRS data.
EatYouWell@lemmy.world 11 months ago
That’s only true if you’re getting paid cash under the table, make tips, or are self-employed. Your job reports your earnings to the IRS.
glorious_albus@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Pretty much how it works in India too.
cm0002@lemmy.world 11 months ago
That’s still dumb AF, they could easily do like many other countries do and send you a breakdown of what you owe/getting back and why. You look it over and go “looks good to me” and have to do nothing or “This part is wrong” or “I qualify for Y tax break/incentive/credit” and then file some proof and you’re done.
But the tax prep companies lobby really hard to keep things as difficult as they are
HubertManne@kbin.social 11 months ago
and there is a tax form that is setup exactly like this available for years. the 1040x. but they don't use that to predo our taxes.