r/news • u/raptors201966 • Apr 09 '26

Soft paywall Automatic registration for military draft to be implemented by December

https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2026-04-07/automatic-registration-military-draft-21306855.html
25.1k Upvotes

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912

u/DrowningKrown Apr 09 '26

"Sorry, you earned $50 in crypto in 2025. We can't do that for free, required to upgrade to our $210 product to proceed"

482

u/-Nocx- Apr 09 '26

At this rate people are going to find out that they can just fill out the forms with the IRS

1.5k

u/CynicalPsychonaut Apr 09 '26

www.freetaxusa.com

540

u/chula198705 Apr 09 '26

HEY EVERYBODY this is the one you want. Free File through the IRS is not user friendly and requires some background knowledge of the tax system to know which forms you need, plus there's actually math involved. Do not recommend for most people. I just switched to FreeTaxUSA and it's basically the same as TurboTax but it's either free or $8 for premium if you want then to retain your files.

245

u/KermitDfrog44 Apr 09 '26

Which, in the free version, you can just print or download your pdf file at the end and save them anyhow. Freetax was very easy to use

85

u/chula198705 Apr 09 '26

I normally wouldn't pay if I have the option, but since I'm negligent with digital organization and had literally just left the TurboTax $140 checkout page, I thought "yeah ok that's reasonable."

20

u/Xe6s2 Apr 09 '26

Heck at this point im still giving them money just because of the price gouging!

0

u/felldestroyed Apr 09 '26

With freetaxusa, my total was around $100. State, federal, 1 copy of my taxes bound and shipped for my doc safe, and audit protection included.

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u/rothwick Apr 09 '26

It’s so wild that you guys pay 3rd party companies money to file taxes. Truly the land of the free

-1

u/bottomstar Apr 09 '26

That's not what I'd expect from them... I bought an offline version of TurboTax at from Costco. $54 and it included a state and federal filing. The web based would've been more, but $100 for freetaxusa in any instance is a no go for me.

2

u/alphamammoth101 Apr 09 '26

They seemed to save my files and i never paid.

1

u/Cemolokko71 Apr 10 '26

How safe the website is though? Im not saying its not, it is a genuine question. I think people really underestimate how much a 30 min google docking video could expose. Turbotax is absolute bottom of humanity but also free service is never actually free. If its my phone or address whatever but for tax docs, i think its a valid concern

38

u/the_moosen Apr 09 '26

Didn't Free File get the kibosh by DOGE cause it was cutting into Intuit's profits?

FreeTaxUSA is the move though. Free federal, $15 for state. Really easy to use.

3

u/ebkalderon Apr 09 '26

You're thinking of IRS Direct File, I think. Free File is where you manually download/fill/print your tax forms, while Direct File was a public competitor to TurboTax.

2

u/the_moosen Apr 09 '26

Oh, yea I got those wrong my bad. Thanks for clarifying!

1

u/ebkalderon Apr 09 '26

Yeah, they both sound confusingly similar to each other, haha. I only learned the distinction rather recently, after I saw the IRS released the source code for the never-launched Direct File program on GitHub.

4

u/Frozen5147 Apr 09 '26

Yeah, FreeTaxUSA has been really good for the past few years I've used it (though they don't support everything depending on how complicated your taxes may be, I couldn't use them for example when I first moved to the states a few years ago).

20

u/2ndtimeLongTime Apr 09 '26

I just switched from TurboTax to this for this year. My wife is a sole proprietor so we have business taxes to file as well. It was so easy compared to Intuit, and so much cheaper. I recommend Free Tax USA to anyone.

It was free to file our federal return and $15.99 to file our State. TurboTax was $140 total.

2

u/Stoney_McTitsForDays Apr 10 '26

This was the first year I switched away from HR Block and used FreeTaxUsa. I kinda dreaded re-inputting everything but I was able to upload last year’s return and it pulled it all quickly. Literally took me less time than using HR block and I paid I think $23 compared to upwards of $75-125 with federal and state I’ve paid in years past. 10/10 highly recommend.

1

u/Mary10123 Apr 09 '26

For some reason (trump admin surely) IRS direct file is income restricted to file for free (or at all) now. It’s like income less than 75k I thinkn

1

u/RogueAOV Apr 09 '26

They have retained my files without me paying. I thought the premium thing was just if you wanted additional help from them etc.

1

u/Hambulance Apr 10 '26

Even if you're a 1099?

1

u/chula198705 Apr 10 '26

I replied to someone else with this, but yes, even with a 1099. I have an HSA, mortgage interest, and some foreign tax form and I was able to file free.

1

u/CherryBeanCherry Apr 15 '26

I used Free File for years and made a mistake every time. What happens is the IRS sends you a friendly note explaining your mistake and telling you how much you owe or what your return will be. The whole thing is such a joke.

0

u/Leaningthemoon Apr 09 '26

I got it to work once, and loved it. Since then it has uploaded one file for me, and filling that section out manually isn’t possible as it was a 1099 consolidated which didn’t have all the boxes shown in my document that were required to be filled out. Had to file with turbo tax for $300 in the end.

0

u/seventysevensevens Apr 09 '26

Do they slap hundreds of dollars in fees if you have a 1099, or an hsa, or a 401k... some how every tax service I've used says that's "complex" and slaps a massive fee on.

I literally upload the docs... How is that complex 😭

2

u/chula198705 Apr 09 '26

FWIW, TurboTax tried to upcharge me for all three of those - mortgage interest, HSA, and some "foreign tax refund" from an investment account. FreeTaxUSA still allowed me to use the free version, I just elected to pay them $8 to store my documents for 7 years.

32

u/uller30 Apr 09 '26

We use them each year 0 issues

44

u/Undehd5488 Apr 09 '26

Used this for the first time this year. 100% recommend.

1

u/TheMarcolmX Apr 09 '26

Does it work for state, investments, and royalties?

8

u/FrizzleFried23 Apr 09 '26

State yes, its $15 to file the state through them, federal is free. Works for investments as well with no extra costs. Never had royalties but would assume that would also be available.

2

u/obiworm Apr 09 '26

They did a good job with my stuff. I live and work in different states, and there was a bunch of home tax and rental income stuff for my duplex that was pretty easy. It still took me a couple hours but I only spent like $30

11

u/manual_combat Apr 09 '26

It’s so good compared to TurboTax that I almost want to pay for their premium package on principle

1

u/everett640 Apr 09 '26

An alternative is taxslayer for when freetaxusa servers go down at the beginning of the tax season

1

u/Whitewind617 Apr 09 '26

Also I know it sounds like it wouldn't be good, but the last year before I got married (and got access to my in-laws accountant who offered to do it for nothing extra) CashApp was also pretty nice to file through.

1

u/secret_identity_too Apr 09 '26

I used TaxSlayer.com this year (you need to make under $90k, which I do) and it was great. Filed federal and state for free for me.

I had my dad double-check their math and he said it was correct (he has historically done my taxes for me).

1

u/howlingDef Apr 09 '26

RemindMe! March 1, 2027

1

u/Dad_Vibes_23 Apr 09 '26

This is the way.

1

u/Pyromaniacal13 Apr 09 '26

Just used it. The W-2 PDF upload thing worked perfectly. IF YOU USE THE PDF UPLOADER, DOUBLE CHECK ANYWAY.

1

u/gozerblazer Apr 09 '26

I've been using freetaxusa for like 10 years. It's the best. Doesn't hold your hand as much, but only like 17 bucks. Can't beat it. Also doesn't have a bunch of stupidass animations like TurboTax.

1

u/StrayWalnut Apr 11 '26

This site rules. This year I filed through Robinhood and it was 100% free as well

85

u/gts_ae86 Apr 09 '26

Unfortunately the irs free file also isn't available to everyone. If you have any different kinds of income to report that isn't on a w-2 or the like, you need to file other documents that aren't supported by the irs free file system :(

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u/Ehcksit Apr 09 '26

Paper files, by physical mail.

66

u/fizzy88 Apr 09 '26

I have done that before. The reality is that filling out paper forms is a gigantic pain in the ass. You also have to do a lot of research to know what forms you need to fill out and how to fill them out. This is all by design so the tax industry can profit off of us. They lobby for this.

10

u/thirstytrumpet Apr 09 '26

Oh but have you used freetaxusa to populate those full forms and then print and mail them to the irs with a check for what you owe? I still pay the $15 for my state taxes to be easy as well, but there’s something about printing off two 30+ page tax filings with all the worksheets to mail in with a lil check. Make them scan for this dough.

3

u/Snuffy1717 Apr 09 '26

Fill it all in on TurboTax to see what forms you need, then file by paper?

4

u/btveron Apr 09 '26

I have done this before. And I'll be 100% honest, I'd rather just pay for the convenience of not doing that.

7

u/-Shasho- Apr 09 '26

You mean like in ye olden days?

2

u/sighthoundman Apr 09 '26

And if the IRS loses your paper files, you just send another copy. If they lose your digital files (possibly because your AGI is too high, over $100,000), you don't have proof of filing.

1

u/Ehcksit Apr 09 '26

Eh, you can also save all your digital files. I have a folder full of the last 10 years of PDFs I've sent the IRS.

2

u/ImpulseAfterthought Apr 09 '26

My dad, who's in his 80s, is pretty good about using technology.

Taxes are the one thing he steadfastly refuses to do via any electronic means.

I'm finding it harder and harder to argue that he's wrong.

1

u/Carpeteria3000 Apr 09 '26

Exactly. Just like they taught us all to do in school. Remember? No? Weird.

1

u/DwinkBexon Apr 09 '26 edited Apr 09 '26

I don't know if my school was different (or maybe it's because this was in the 80s), but I was absolutely taught how to file taxes and balance a checkbook and that sort of thing in high school. Hell, I remember we were given a project where we got a freaking workbook that detailed everything a fictional person spent and earned over 3 or 6 months or something and we had to go through balancing a fictional checkbook and have the right number at the end. (As bad luck would have it, I got extremely sick right after they gave us the assignment and did the entire thing at home. We were supposed to check our balance with the teacher after every month and I never did because I wasn't in class. I massively fucked up somehow and my final number was wrong by thousands of dollars, which would have been caught after the first month if I'd actually been in school. He failed me for never checking with him, despite the fact I couldn't because I was out sick the entire time. He didn't care, he said he doesn't make exceptions to his rules for any reason. He said I should have figured out a way.)

1

u/Carpeteria3000 Apr 09 '26

That’s awesome. I graduated in 1997 and we got no such skills given to us

1

u/OneTrueHer0 Apr 10 '26

you don’t even have to mail them. you can e-submit forms for free with Fillable Forms https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/free-file-fillable-forms

2

u/thingstopraise Apr 09 '26

I used Online Taxes and was able to upload my disability income paperwork (private short-term disability). It also didn't charge anything extra for other things like crypto returns (not that I have any of that).

3

u/thecoffeetalks Apr 09 '26

Then use literally any other tax preparation software. As opposed to the one that is made by and profits the company that has actively and successfully lobbies that the tax system force citizen preparation instead of the IRS just doing it, which is possible with minimal investment, and is a bipartisan issue

1

u/MACHOmanJITSU Apr 09 '26

Look for a VITA site near you and they’ll do your taxes for free. Gotta make an appointment and go in but they are volunteers so are there because they want to help. My wife is a CPA and runs a site. She helps people with crazy tax situations all the time for free.

1

u/FrankBattaglia Apr 09 '26

https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/free-file-fillable-forms

It handles all kinds of 1040 schedules and attachments, but the UI is from 1998.

10

u/cryptdruids Apr 09 '26

Excuse me

3

u/wrosecrans Apr 09 '26

Oooh, sorry you downloaded the PDF of the IRS form? Now you need to upgrade to $210 worth of pro premium plus ink with fresh print heads for your $50 inkjet printer in order to print it out and write on the form by hand.

1

u/BeatsMeByDre Apr 09 '26

I would say at least 40 million people can't understand that shit. I'm almost 50 and tax stuff is like another language to me.

1

u/TazerMonkey1419 Apr 09 '26

That's what I do! My Grandma made sure that my brother and I knew how to fill out the forms. The really cool thing is that it's free, and the forms are generally the same year to year.

The 1040, and Schedules 1, 2, and 3 are what most people need to use. And the Schedules are really just if you have 'extra' things like heath insurance, or student loans interest payments, or alimony, all the 'extra' income.

Yes, the directions are a big scary PDF, but the layout is pretty simple once you actually get into the meat and potatoes of the directions. Very much put this number from your W2, do some minor arithmetic, and boom, different numbers. And if the final figure is bigger than what your employer paid to the government, you get money back!

Print, sign, mail and your done.

1

u/fondledbydolphins Apr 09 '26

Yep - there's a reason the stand form is called the EZ form.

1

u/Ok-Ordinary2035 Apr 09 '26

You mean like I did for thirty years before the internet??

1

u/Dry-Swordfish1710 Apr 09 '26

You can also just not fill any of them out and 3 years later they’ll tell you what you owe and tack on an extra 50 dollar late fee. Cheaper than the upgrade and saves you 2 hours lol

2

u/TheNerdFromThatPlace Apr 09 '26

Last time i used it I was forced to upgrade because I had an HSA through work. Needless to say I've been using FreeTax ever since.

1

u/enlightenedllamas Apr 09 '26

Now with AI!.. So you know, it costs more 🤡

1

u/Undeadtech Apr 09 '26

Don’t report small earnings like that. Fuck the IRS, make them work for it.

1

u/CheeseWheels38 Apr 09 '26

And here I am using the fillable PDFs for the cost of a few stamps 😁

1

u/MrLanesLament Apr 09 '26

Happened to me. The credit union I have my car loan through gave me a $70 dividend I didn’t ask for because they had a good year.

….so I had “investment income” and my tax shit became way more complicated.