Is FreeTaxUSA rounding the amounts on my tax return acceptable?
I'm filing my taxes for the first time and noticed that FreeTaxUSA seems to be rounding the dollar amounts on my forms. Like when I enter $1,045.67 for my side gig income, it shows up as $1,046 on the preview of my return. I'm kinda worried about this because my numbers don't match exactly what's on my documents anymore. Is this normal or am I setting myself up for problems with the IRS? Don't want to mess up my first time doing this on my own!
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Zara Mirza
The rounding you're seeing in FreeTaxUSA is completely normal and IRS-approved! The IRS actually requires that all amounts on tax forms be rounded to the nearest dollar. So $1,045.67 should indeed be reported as $1,046, while $1,045.49 would be rounded down to $1,045. This rounding rule applies to all lines on your tax forms, not just your income. Your deductions, credits, and other amounts will all be rounded the same way. The software is doing exactly what it should be doing. The important thing is to enter the exact amounts from your documents into the software initially. FreeTaxUSA will handle the rounding correctly when preparing the final forms.
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NebulaNinja
•Wait, so does that mean I should be entering the cents when I input my W-2 info or should I round everything myself before entering it?
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Zara Mirza
•You should definitely enter the exact amounts including cents when inputting your information. Always use the precise figures from your documents with the decimal points. The software will handle all the rounding automatically when it generates your final tax forms. This ensures everything is calculated correctly before the rounding occurs. If you pre-round your numbers before entering them, you might end up with calculation errors that add up across your return.
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Luca Russo
I was super nervous about this same issue last year! I found https://taxr.ai really helpful for double checking my FreeTaxUSA return. I uploaded my W-2 and some 1099s, and it confirmed that the rounding was correct according to IRS rules. It also caught a mistake I made entering one of my investment accounts that FreeTaxUSA didn't flag. Saved me from a potential audit headache!
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Nia Wilson
•How exactly does that service work? Do you just upload your documents and it reviews everything automatically? Does it check your actual tax return too or just the source documents?
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Mateo Sanchez
•Sounds interesting but I'm always nervous about uploading my financial docs to random websites. How secure is it? What if someone gets my info?
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Luca Russo
•The service analyzes both your documents and your completed tax return to check for consistency. You upload your tax forms (like W-2s and 1099s) and your final tax return, and it compares everything to make sure the numbers match and are reported correctly. It can spot things like missing forms or amounts entered in the wrong place. All the documents are encrypted during transmission and storage, and they use bank-level security protocols. I was skeptical too at first, but they explain their security measures in detail on their site. They also delete your documents after analysis if you select that option.
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Mateo Sanchez
Just wanted to follow up that I actually tried taxr.ai after posting my skeptical comment. It was super helpful! I've been using FreeTaxUSA for years and never knew I was making a mistake with my student loan interest. The tool showed me exactly where the numbers should go and explained why the rounding was happening. Ended up finding an extra $340 in my refund because I was reporting something wrong all this time! Definitely worth checking out if you're new to taxes.
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Aisha Mahmood
Anyone else having trouble getting through to the IRS to ask basic questions like this? I tried calling about a rounding issue on my FreeTaxUSA return, but was on hold for 2+ hours before giving up. Then I found https://claimyr.com and watched their demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - they basically hold your place in the IRS phone queue and call you when an agent is ready to talk. Saved me another afternoon waiting on hold!
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Ethan Clark
•How much does that service cost? Seems like something the IRS should provide for free.
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AstroAce
•That sounds too good to be true. Does it actually work? I've tried calling the IRS like 5 times this month and never got through.
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Aisha Mahmood
•I understand the frustration - I felt the same way initially. The IRS absolutely should make it easier to reach them, but until they fix their system, this service fills a gap. The service works exactly as advertised. You enter your phone number, and they use their system to navigate the IRS phone tree and wait in the queue. When they reach a live agent, they call you and connect you. My call was transferred within about 45 minutes, which was way better than my previous attempts.
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AstroAce
Update on my skepticism: I tried Claimyr yesterday after posting my doubtful comment. Holy crap it actually works! I've been trying for WEEKS to get through to the IRS about an issue with my 2023 refund that FreeTaxUSA couldn't help with. Claimyr got me connected to an agent in about an hour. The IRS person confirmed that the rounding on my return was correct and fixed my refund issue too. Saved me from taking a day off work to sit on hold!
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Yuki Kobayashi
Don't stress too much about the rounding. I've been using FreeTaxUSA for 5 years now and never had any issues with the IRS because of the rounding. Like others said, it's actually required. Just make sure all your income docs (W-2s, 1099s, etc.) are reported, that's what they really care about.
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Sean Flanagan
•Thanks for the reassurance! Do you know if there's a way to see both the exact amounts I entered AND the rounded amounts in FreeTaxUSA? Just to double check everything myself?
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Yuki Kobayashi
•Yes, there's definitely a way to check both! When you're entering information in FreeTaxUSA, the input fields show your exact amounts with cents. Then when you preview your forms (usually under "View/Print Return"), you'll see the rounded amounts as they'll appear on your official return. If you want to be extra careful, you can also use the "Forms" view in FreeTaxUSA which shows you exactly what will be submitted to the IRS. This is good practice anyway to make sure everything looks right before filing.
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Carmen Vega
Lol am I the only one who's been manually rounding all my numbers before entering them into FreeTaxUSA all these years? 🤦♂️
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Andre Rousseau
•You're not alone! I did that for my first two years of filing. My refund still came through fine both times, but I'm guessing the calculations were slightly off. Probably only by a few dollars though.
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Malik Robinson
Hey Sean! I totally get why you'd be worried about this - I was in the exact same boat when I first started doing my own taxes. The rounding is completely normal and actually required by the IRS, so FreeTaxUSA is doing exactly what it should be doing. One thing that helped me feel more confident was keeping a simple spreadsheet with my original exact amounts alongside what appeared on the final forms, just for my own peace of mind. That way I could see that everything was accounted for properly even after rounding. Since you're filing for the first time, I'd also suggest double-checking that you didn't miss any tax documents (like a second W-2 if you had multiple jobs, or any 1099s from banks/investments). Those are way more likely to cause issues than the rounding. You've got this!
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Vince Eh
•That's such a great idea about keeping a spreadsheet! I'm definitely going to do that for my peace of mind. Quick question though - when you say "any 1099s from banks/investments," how do I know if I'm supposed to get one? Like, I have a savings account that earned maybe $12 in interest last year. Would the bank send me something for that small amount?
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