A good move from the IRS to make it easier to file your taxes

One of life’s thorny tasks is figuring out your annual federal income tax filing. Some would rather put their head in a hornet’s nest than sort through their finances to determine how much they may owe the government.

Some rely on friends or family to prepare their tax statements. Some brave souls go it alone. But the more complicated your money situation, the more likely you need an accountant as April 15 rolls around. According to estimates, the average American pays $240 for tax preparation services.

Starting this month, the Biden administration is launching a new pilot program to make things easier for taxpayers in 12 states, including New York, especially those with annual income statements that are relatively simple. Arguably, the best part of this program is that it is free. If successful, advocates say some taxpayers will no longer have to pay for private tax-filing services such as TurboTax and H & Block or wrestle with a paper form.

The new system, known as Direct File, can be found at directfile.irs.gov and is well worth trying. New York State officials are urging residents to consider it in paying both their state and federal income taxes. Right now, it’s only for those with simple tax needs, and not those with itemized deductions. It comes with live online support on weekdays and can be used on your smartphone as well as a tablet or desktop computer. The Internal Revenue Service protects privacy and personal information by using ID.me — the private third-party login system used by the Social Security Administration — to verify each taxpayer’s identity and keep information secure from theft.

Some 2.8 million New Yorkers, roughly one-third of all New York taxpayers, are eligible for Direct File, the IRS says. It should ease the burden of preparing taxes, particularly for low-wage and part-time workers who don’t have great sums of money to report. This change is also likely to improve the public’s perception of the IRS at a time when GOP legislators are criticizing it, attempting to thwart Biden administration efforts to add more IRS agents to collect unreported income from corporations and wealthy taxpayers.

This IRS innovation also comes about as private tax preparers unveil their own innovations. Both TurboTax and H & Block have added artificial intelligence to their software. Customers filing their taxes from home can ask an AI chatbot on the right side of their screen for answers when they are stuck about what to do. So far, these innovations have met with mixed reviews.

Nevertheless, it is good to see a government focus on simplifying the filing system for income tax returns. Next, how about simplifying the tax system itself? It is important for government to constantly look for ways to make our lives simpler, not more complex.