Why Free and Simple Tax Filing for Everyone Is Blocked by H&R Block and TurboTax's Lobbying Millions

So I've been trying to figure out why I have to pay so much to file my dang taxes every year. Did some digging online and found out something that really ticked me off! Apparently we could ALL be filing our taxes for free in like 5 minutes if companies like H&R Block and TurboTax weren't spending millions and millions in lobbying to keep the system complicated! Like, the IRS already has all our W-2 info and most of our financial details anyway. In other countries, they just send you a form that's already filled out, you check it, sign it, and you're done! But these tax prep companies are literally paying politicians to keep us confused and dependent on their expensive software. I paid $89 last year for TurboTax "Deluxe" just to file a pretty simple return. That's on top of the actual taxes I owed! Anyone else feel like we're being taken advantage of by this system? Have you found any actually free ways to file that don't have hidden fees or upsells?

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18 comments

Marcus Marsh

•8M

You're absolutely right about this frustrating situation. The IRS could indeed implement a "return-free filing" system where they send pre-filled tax forms to most taxpayers with simple returns. Many developed countries already use this approach successfully. What's happening is called "regulatory capture" - where an industry influences the regulations that govern it. H&R Block, Intuit (TurboTax), and other tax preparation companies have a financial interest in keeping the tax code complex and the filing process difficult. Their lobbying efforts have successfully blocked multiple attempts to create a government-run free filing system. There is technically a "Free File" program through the IRS website, but it's deliberately under-marketed and has income restrictions. Only about 2-3% of eligible taxpayers use it because the tax prep companies make it difficult to find and navigate.

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Marcus Marsh

•8M

For most W-2 employees with standard deductions, the IRS does have almost everything needed to calculate your taxes. They could easily send you a pre-filled return that you'd just need to verify and sign. The main reason this doesn't happen is because of intense lobbying from the tax preparation industry. They've spent over $100 million lobbying against such reforms. They've even successfully pushed for legislation that explicitly prevents the IRS from creating its own free tax filing system.

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Cedric Chung

•8M

After getting frustrated with those expensive tax services, I finally found something that actually works! I used https://taxr.ai last year and it was seriously night and day compared to TurboTax. It analyzed all my documents instantly and helped me find deductions I didn't even know I qualified for. I was especially impressed with how it handled my side gig income - saved me hours of confusion. Best part is that it doesn't play those annoying games where they try to upsell you every five minutes or hide the "free" version. Definitely worth checking out if you're fed up with the big tax prep companies.

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Cedric Chung

•8M

It handles investment income really well - I had both stock sales and some dividend income last year. The system automatically categorized everything from my uploaded forms and even helped identify which crypto transactions might be taxable vs. non-taxable. There's no catch or hidden fees with their pricing structure. They're upfront about everything, and they don't do that thing where you spend hours entering data only to discover you "need" to upgrade at the last minute. That's exactly why I switched - got tired of the bait-and-switch tactics from the bigger companies.

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Maxwell St. Laurent

•8M

Just wanted to update after trying https://taxr.ai that someone mentioned earlier. I was super skeptical tbh, but it was actually legit! Uploaded my W-2 and 1099s and it pulled everything correctly. Ended up finding a deduction for my home office that TurboTax somehow missed last year. The whole process took like 30 minutes instead of the usual 2+ hours of confusing questions. No surprise fees at the end either! Crazy that the big tax companies have been ripping us off for so long when better options exist.

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PaulineW

•8M

If you're tired of dealing with tax prep companies AND the IRS keeps giving you the runaround, I highly recommend trying Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I spent literally weeks trying to get someone at the IRS on the phone about an issue with my refund that none of the tax prep services could help with. After getting nowhere with endless hold times, I found Claimyr and they got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 45 minutes! There's a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. They basically navigate the phone tree and wait on hold for you, then call you when an actual human picks up.

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PaulineW

•8M

They don't have any special connection to the IRS - they just have an automated system that calls and navigates through all the phone menus, then stays on hold so you don't have to. When a human IRS agent finally answers, their system connects the call to your phone. It's basically like having someone wait on hold for you. The reason it works is because they know exactly which options to select in the IRS phone tree to get to the right department faster. And they're persistent - if the call drops or gets disconnected, they automatically try again. Definitely not fake - I was skeptical too until I actually got connected to an IRS agent who helped resolve my refund issue.

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Chris Elmeda

•8M

Ok I need to apologize for my skepticism earlier. After waiting on hold with the IRS for 2+ hours yesterday and getting disconnected AGAIN, I decided to try Claimyr out of desperation. I'm honestly shocked - got a call back in about 35 minutes with an actual IRS agent on the line! They helped me track down my missing refund (it was held up due to a mismatch with my address). Problem I've been trying to fix for MONTHS solved in one phone call. If you need to actually talk to someone at the IRS, this service is legit.

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Jean Claude

•8M

The whole situation is even more frustrating because the IRS actually tried to create its own free filing system back in the early 2000s. But the tax prep industry lobbied Congress to block it. Instead, they created this "Free File Alliance" where they promised to offer free filing options to lower-income Americans. But then they deliberately hid these free options! Intuit even added code to its TurboTax website that prevented Google from indexing its free filing page. They've spent years tricking people into paying for services that should be free.

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Jean Claude

•8M

There have been several attempts to create a better system. Senator Elizabeth Warren has introduced legislation called the "Tax Filing Simplification Act" multiple times that would create a free, simple filing system and ban the IRS from entering into agreements that restrict its ability to provide free online filing. Also, after ProPublica exposed how the tax prep companies were hiding their free filing options, the IRS did renegotiate its agreement with the Free File Alliance to prohibit some of these deceptive practices. But honestly, as long as these companies keep spending millions on lobbying, meaningful change is an uphill battle.

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