this post was submitted on 30 May 2024
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Right. Filing taxes should only be necessary if you have itemized writeoffs or wish to contest the IRS's statement of your tax liability. They already know what you earned their your employer, what's been paid in taxes, what basic credits your qualify for, etc. They know what you owe so long as you didn't have expenses to apply for that they couldn't assume or know about. The only reason they don't already do that or, at least until now, have a free public system for filing, it's because tax companies have lobbied for decades to be able to milk the public for cash to help them file and navigate their tax liability.
Solo 401ks/IRA also wouldn't be something they know about until you file if I understand correctly. Guess you could that expenses?
They should (and do?) have the same information your employer, bank, or brokerage files. i.e. the same forms you use to fill out your taxes now. They know what you contributed to you 401k and your other retirement accounts.
Solo 401ks are where you're the employer (guess technically there's some wiggle room for others to be in your 401k, but from the perspective of such a person, wouldn't it just be a normal 401k?). So you have to report it yourself. The brokerage firm holding it won't.
Well, yeah. If you're self employed, you have to report yourself too.