Comment on The IRS Tax Filing Software TurboTax Is Trying to Kill Just Got Open Sourced

eager_eagle@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

• dhork@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Hurry up and clone that ASAP, this is gonna get taken down once they realize what it is

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  • ricecake@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    More likely they’ll just turn off or unpublish the API that it depends on.

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    • catloaf@lemm.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Is that even available right now? Usually for this type of thing you need API keys, which are not included, nor available at all.

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      • bdonvr@thelemmy.club ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Direct File interprets the United States’ Internal Revenue Code (26 USC) as plain language questions, the answers to which should be known to taxpayers without need of external instructions or publications. 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

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    • errer@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Recreating the API seems doable? If we can recreate dead MMO servers…

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      • muusemuuse@lemm.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Are you comparing online game servers to the American tax system? Because I really want a ban.

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      • ricecake@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Well, you probably could. Issue is that you can’t self host the IRS. If they aren’t running the service that accepts the data there isn’t much you can do.

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      • bdonvr@thelemmy.club ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Direct File interprets the United States’ Internal Revenue Code (26 USC) as plain language questions, the answers to which should be known to taxpayers without need of external instructions or publications. 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

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  • scott@lemmy.org ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    That was my thought too and I did so but it’s been up for over a week now.

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• Kowowow@lemmy.ca ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  I wonder if this could be altered to work for other countries

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  • iknowitwheniseeit@lemmynsfw.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    We’ve already got free software for filing taxes, kthxbye!

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    • Kowowow@lemmy.ca ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Oh that’s good to know what’s it’s called

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  • gian@lemmy.grys.it ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    It would be nice but I think it is not really possible. Too many difference in the laws I suppose.

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    • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Yeah, tax software is hyper-tailored to the tax law, which is why it needs to get an update every year.

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  • SabinStargem@lemmy.today ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I can see the EU funding it. This could be a measure to allow Blue States circumvent the federal system - a CaliTAX, AlohaTAX, ect. This would be vital during a civil war scenario, so that the Blue States can having working taxation systems without having to redo everything.

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• sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Comment from the first PR:

  because this is the first pull request and something many people will see, I would like to say that I learned from a former project manager at the IRS that development on Direct File has stopped since January. the source code is only public because of federal law. it’s not likely that this is going to be merged but it’s possible that the components of Direct File might be used elsewhere

  Don’t get your hopes up too much.

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