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How Easy is It to Use Calfile

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CalFile

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CalFile [1] is a free tax preparation program initiated by the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) to file state tax returns online directly to the FTB.[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] It is available to users with incomes under $406,687 [9] [10] and takes 20 minutes to complete a return for most users,[11] [12] with direct deposit refunds usually within 7 to 10 days.[13]

History [edit]

CalFile became available in 2003.[14] [15] In 2011, 6.4 million filers were eligible.[16] The features of California's other free tax preparation software ReadyReturn are now part of CalFile.[17] [18] [19]

Economics [edit]

Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., professor at UC Davis School of Law, who specializes in tax policy and legal ethics, describes it as a "a reliable, voluntary, safe and free way to calculate and file ... taxes."[20] FTB says CalFile annually saves taxpayers somewhere between $4 million and $10 million in tax preparation fees, and the state of California saves approximately $500,000 in digitization overhead and administrative costs.[21] [22]

Opposition [edit]

CalFile has faced lobbying campaigns by market competitors in private tax-preparing software like Intuit.[20] These lobbying campaigns have dissuaded the IRS commissioner from implementing a free online federal tax preparation program.[23] ProPublica notes that Intuit's product TurboTax "rests on a shaky foundation, one that could collapse overnight if the U.S. government did what most wealthy countries[24] did long ago and made tax filing simple and free for most citizens."[25] [26] [27]

See also [edit]

  • Free File Alliance

References [edit]

  1. ↑ "File directly with us — for free". California Franchise Tax Board.
  2. ↑ "How to File a California State Tax Return | Credit Karma Tax®". Credit Karma. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2021. E-file and pay for free with CalFile through the Franchise Tax Board's website.
  3. ↑ "California Franchise Tax Board - Case Studies". Human Factors International. FTB suspected that much of its site was underutilized – either because people couldn't find information or didn't know what to look for. FTB was especially eager to increase the usage of CalFile, its online filing feature. At the start of a major redesign, HFI performed an expert review and conducted usability testing on both the existing website and a new prototype. By getting usability analysis and recommendations early in the redesign process, FTB minimized the cost of implementing changes.
  4. ↑ Prah, Pamela M. "States' Free Online Tax Filing Services Going Underused". Government Technology. e.Republic. Stateline.org. Retrieved 9 January 2021. California is the only state that has a free online tool that generates the return itself; you don't even have to enter the numbers. The program ReadyReturn pulls the information from wage reports and past tax returns and then completes a return online. The state touts ReadyReturn as an easy program that allows taxpayers to finish state tax returns in minutes, rather than hours.But not many Californians are using it. Of the 2 million taxpayers who were eligible to use ReadyReturn, just 89,000 used the program last year, according to the state Franchise Tax Board. Some 244,000 Californians used CalFile, the state's other online tax program, which requires that taxpayers enter their own information, the board said. In a nutshell, ReadyReturn is for filers with under about $250,000 in income and CalFile is for wealthier taxpayers. ReadyReturn is not without controversy. It started out as a pilot in 2005, but faced opposition from the industry, particularly Intuit, producer of TurboTax.
  5. ↑ Bankman, Joseph; Hemel, Daniel; Ventry, Dennis (2018-07-18). "Why filing taxes isn't easy". The Agenda. POLITICO LLC. Retrieved 9 January 2021. California already offers a tool, CalFile, which allows residents to prepare and file state income taxes online at no cost. So why doesn't the IRS do the same?
  6. ↑ Klotsche, John (30 March 2017). "Americans shouldn't be responsible for filing tax returns — the government should". Washington Post . Retrieved 9 January 2021. This idea for the tax agency to do the heavy-lifting computations is not new. California launched just such a program, ReadyReturn, in 2004 and recently took its best features and folded them into CalFile, the state's easy-to-use service offering free e-filing. (John Klotsche is a partner and former chairman of the executive committee of the law firm Baker McKenzie. He was a senior adviser to the IRS Commissioner from 2003 to 2008.)
  7. ↑ "State provides free completed tax returns for many". Davis Enterprise. Davis Enterprise. 11 March 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2021. Last year, nearly 75 percent of all personal income tax returns were filed electronically. Key benefits of e-filing are that tax returns are more accurate; taxpayers get confirmation that FTB received their return, and the state saves paper-processing costs, the news release said. Taxpayers who file online and have their refunds issued by direct deposit often get refunds within one week. Paper-filed returns take longer, up to six to eight weeks depending on the time of year the return is filed.FTB offers CalFile, a free e-file program for more complicated tax filings. This online process takes about 15 to 30 minutes to complete. With CalFile, the taxpayer types in his or her tax information and e-files the return from FTB's website. More than 6.4 million taxpayers can use CalFile. FTB also produced a short video describing the ease of using CalFile.
  8. ↑ Pender, Kathleen Pender (11 March 2017). "How to get your taxes done, or do them yourself, for free". SFChronicle.com . Retrieved 9 January 2021. Most California taxpayers can file their state tax return online for free using CalFile, sponsored by the Franchise Tax Board, but last year only about 1 percent did. With a Basic CalFile account, you don't need a PIN, but must enter everything manually. With a Deluxe Account, you will have to wait for a PIN in the mail, but you will be able to view and import data from last year's tax return, California wage and withholding information, estimated payments and other data the state has on you. (If you get a PIN, don't wait too long to activate your account.) The income limits to use CalFile are high — $182,459 for single and $364,923 for joint returns. But some things will exclude you, such as capital gains or losses, business income, rental income, distributions from a retirement account before age 59½ and Roth IRA conversions.
  9. ↑ "CalFile Qualifications 2020". FTB.ca.gov . Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  10. ↑ "Franchise Tax Board Announces State Tax Filing Simplified for Many; Other News for State Income Taxpayers". Business Wire. 3 January 2005. Retrieved 9 January 2021. The FTB offers free e-file services through its own CalFile service. CalFile is the FTB's no cost, direct-to-government e-file program. It is available to taxpayers who file the 540 2EZ, 540A, and to a limited degree the 540 long form. CalFile accepts income of nearly $280,000, itemized deductions, and some tax credits.
  11. ↑ "State Franchise Tax Board announces start of tax return season". Los Altos Town Crier. 15 January 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-01-17. Retrieved 9 January 2021. CalFile, a free, easy-to-use e-file option available to more than 6.4 million taxpayers. CalFile accepts taxpayers with income of up to $345,235, itemized deductions and some tax credits. CalFile guides taxpayers through a simple question-and-answer process that takes 15-30 minutes to complete. CalFile offers features such as email confirmation verifying that the return was filed and the ability to save information and return later to finish.
  12. ↑ "California State Controller gives tax season advice -". KUSI. McKinnon Broadcasting. 21 March 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2021. Most users can complete their return in about 20 minutes using FTB's free CalFile program
  13. ↑ "FTB offers last-minute tips for taxpayers". The Sun-Gazette Newspaper. 15 April 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-08-08. Retrieved 9 January 2021. With tax day now upon us – Wednesday, April 15 – the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) offers tips for taxpayers to save time and money. "This can be a stressful time of year for taxpayers, but they should rest assured that free help is available," said FTB Chair and State Controller Betty T. Yee.File online in minutes. FTB offers free electronic filing through CalFile, an easy-to-use tool available to more than 6.4 million taxpayers. FTB recommends setting up direct deposit to get a fast refund – generally within 7 to 10 days
  14. ↑ "PIVOTING AWAY FROM PAPER How the IRS Can Overhaul Customer Service and Transform its Business Practices IRS Oversight Board Public Forum Agenda" (PDF). May 13, 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2021. PANEL 2: Using Technology to Increase Customer Service for Taxpayers and Preparers: Panelist: Anne Miller, Division Chief, Filing Division, California Franchise Tax Board
  15. ↑ Miller, Anne (May 13, 2014). "Pivoting Away from Paper" (PDF). Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board Public Forum. United States Department of the Treasury. Retrieved 9 January 2021. CalFile was implemented in 2003 as a free, direct-to-government filing option for personal income taxpayers to complete and e-file their California tax return. CalFile leveraged the e-file system developed a decade earlier and the direct filing portal we made available for tax software providers in 1998.
  16. ↑ "State provides free completed tax returns for many". Davis Enterprise. Davis Enterprise. 11 March 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2021. Last year, nearly 75 percent of all personal income tax returns were filed electronically. Key benefits of e-filing are that tax returns are more accurate; taxpayers get confirmation that FTB received their return, and the state saves paper-processing costs, the news release said. Taxpayers who file online and have their refunds issued by direct deposit often get refunds within one week. Paper-filed returns take longer, up to six to eight weeks depending on the time of year the return is filed.FTB offers CalFile, a free e-file program for more complicated tax filings. This online process takes about 15 to 30 minutes to complete. With CalFile, the taxpayer types in his or her tax information and e-files the return from FTB's website. More than 6.4 million taxpayers can use CalFile. FTB also produced a short video describing the ease of using CalFile.
  17. ↑ "2004 ReadyReturn Pilot". Franchise Tax Board. 2019-12-08. Archived from the original on 2005-03-23. Retrieved 2019-12-08 .
  18. ↑ "Your California tax return may be ready and waiting for you - ReadyReturn". California Franchise Tax Board. 2014-05-02. Archived from the original on 2014-05-02. Retrieved 2014-05-02 .
  19. ↑ "What was the experience with return-free filing in California?". Tax Policy Center . Retrieved 9 January 2021. The pilot program was popular among taxpayers who used it, and California subsequently authorized the widespread availability of ReadyReturns for tax year 2007. The program has now been incorporated into CalFile, the state's free online tax-filing site.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Ventry, Dennis J. (21 July 2010). "Intuit's end-run". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  21. ↑ Lam, Bourree (18 April 2016). "The Fight Over Making Taxes Less Awful". The Atlantic . Retrieved 9 January 2021. The state's program, CalFile, uses information the state already has to calculate taxes for single filers making up to $169,730 and married filers making up to $339,464 a year.According to the California Franchise Tax Board, CalFile's annual costs are about $100,000, which goes toward updating the program in accordance with any new tax legislation, and saves the state over half a million dollars a year. (For comparison, the private-sector tax-prep industry is estimated to bring in $10 billion in revenue every year.)
  22. ↑ Howard, John (29 July 2010). "Debate over online state tax filing heats up in Capitol". Capitol Weekly. Sacramento, California. Retrieved 9 January 2021. Intuit, which manufacturers the popular TurboTax program, and others in a business coalition want to curtail the use of free, state-sponsored online tax filing systems. There are two of them. One is Ready Return, a basic, one-step process for taxpayers who use the standard deduction, don't itemize and only have wage income from one W-2 source. The other is CalFile, which allows itemized deductions and income up to $321,000 for married filing jointly, but is not suitable for some taxpayers, such as those with extensive investment income or business deductions...Chiang noted that private tax preparers have sought dismantling Ready Return for several years, since the establishment of the online pilot program. Chiang spokesman Jacob Roper added that "the state saves a tremendous amount with people who use online filing. A digital return costs 34 cents to process, as opposed to $2.59 for a paper return." Estimates vary, but the FTB believes Ready Return and CalFile save taxpayers between $4 million and $10 million, while the state saves some $500,000 annually in overhead and administrative costs.
  23. ↑ Kaste, Martin (March 23, 2007). "IRS Urges E-Filing — But by Vendors Only, Please". NPR . Retrieved 9 January 2021. The intensity of industry opposition to CalFile has not gone unnoticed in Washington, D.C. In February, IRS commissioner Mark Everson told Congress that he was reluctant to set up an IRS direct e-file system in part because of the bruising battle he witnessed in California...And that leaves federal taxpayers with little prospect of a direct-to-government e-filing system anytime soon...In fact, the industry already ran Big Brother-themed ads in California when tax authorities there were setting up CalFile, a direct e-filing system for state taxes. Lenny Goldberg, the head of the California Tax Reform Association, says Intuit is leading the charge against direct e-filing.
  24. ↑ Mayyasi, Alex (March 22, 2017). "The Stanford Professor Who Fought the Tax Lobby". Priceonomics . Retrieved 9 January 2021. The name for tax filing where the government sends out completed tax forms is return-free filing or pro forma returns. Countries like Sweden and Spain use return-free filing. In Estonia, 95% of taxpayers receive their tax bill online, and many pay with a single click. ReadyReturn was later incorporated into CalFile, which allows Californians to e-file their taxes. Intuit is not a fan.
  25. ↑ Elliott, Justin; Kiel, Paul. "Inside TurboTax's 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans From Filing Their Taxes for Free". ProPublica. But the success of TurboTax rests on a shaky foundation, one that could collapse overnight if the U.S. government did what most wealthy countries did long ago and made tax filing simple and free for most citizens. via : news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21281411
  26. ↑ Ferenstein, Gregory (15 April 2015). "Technology Could Make Tax Day Easy; Lobbying Keeps It Complicated". ReadWrite . Retrieved 9 January 2021. Unfortunately, Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, has banded with other tax-filing corporations to form a multi-million dollar lobbying machine to halt the government from rolling the technology out nation-wide. In 2010, the LA Times reported that Intuit spent $1,250,000 lobbying the state, at least in part to kill the pilot and prevent its spread throughout the country. ReadyReturn no longer exists, although some of its features have been rolled into CalFile, a new tax service from the State of California. CalFile allows taxpayers to file their returns directly with the state, but does not appear to automatically estimate their tax liability in advance.
  27. ↑ Bankman, Joseph (November 19, 2019). Mr. Smith Gets an Education: Why it is so Hard to get Easy Tax Filing (PDF) . Retrieved 9 January 2021. At around the same time, the industry took steps to make the program more difficult to find. Both Intuit and H&R Block added code to their Free File websites that shielded them from search engines such as Google. Search this book on Amazon.com Logo.png

External links [edit]

  • Bankman, Joseph (December 2008). "Using Technology to Simplify Individual Tax Filing" (PDF). National Tax Journal. 61 (4, Part 2): 773–789. doi:10.17310/ntj.2008.4S.01. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  • Bankman, Joseph; Nass, Clifford; Slemrod, Joel B. (2015). "Using the 'Smart Return' to Reduce Tax Evasion". SSRN Electronic Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.2578432. SSRN2578432.
  • "Point & Counterpoint: Joseph Bankman (Stanford) and James Edward Maule (Villanova) debate tax-filing simplification proposals: data-retrieval and pro-forma return". ABA Tax Times. 35 (4). Summer 2016.
  • "Free Articles: Bankman, Joseph". Tax Notes. Tax Analysts. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  • Litan, Robert E.; Eisenach, Jeffrey A.; Caves, Kevin W. (2008). "The Benefits and Costs of I-File" (PDF). SSRN Electronic Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.1159844. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  • "Tax industry group is 'trying to chill my research,' Professor Ventry tells N.Y. Times". UC Davis School of Law - News. November 13, 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  • Ventry, Dennis J. Jr (21 July 2010). "Intuit's end-run". Los Angeles Times.
  • Ventry, Dennis J., Intuit's Nine Lies Kill State E-Filing Programs and Keep 'Free' File Alive (August 30, 2010). State Tax Notes, Vol. 555, No. 57, 2010, UC Davis Legal Studies Research Paper No. 227 Peer Reviewed
  • Ventry, Dennis J. (16 July 2018). "The Failed Free File Program Should Be Reformed, Not Codified". Tax Notes. 160 (3): 317. Retrieved 13 January 2021. Reprinted from Tax Notes Peer Reviewed
  • Ventry, Dennis J. (2020-02-10). "The Fix Was In: Mitre's "Independent" Review of Free File". Tax Notes Federal: 827. Retrieved 13 January 2021. Peer Reviewed
  • Ventry, Dennis J. (4 November 2019). "False Claims in Fight Over California's False Claims Act". Tax Notes State: 395. Retrieved 13 January 2021. Peer Reviewed
  • "Free Articles: Ventry, Dennis J., Jr". Tax Notes. Tax Analysts. Retrieved 13 January 2021. Dennis J. Ventry Jr. is a professor at the University of California, Davis, School of Law and former Chair of the IRS Advisory Council.
  • Walker, David I. (2020). "Tax Complexity and Technology". SSRN Electronic Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.3685329. SSRN3685329 . Boston Univ. School of Law, Law and Economics Research Paper No. 20-28
  • Schwebke, Jason; Brink, William; Hansen, Victoria; Kelliher, Charles (January 2019). "Analyzing the role of trustworthiness in tax filing and tax compliance behavior through an automated return" (PDF). University of North Texas College of Business . Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  • Klein, Ezra (15 April 2015). "What Denmark, Sweden, and Spain could teach America about taxes". Vox.
  • Manjoo, Farhad (15 April 2015). "Would You Let the I.R.S. Prepare Your Taxes?". The New York Times.
  • Stevens, Daniel (April 12, 2015). "Is Money in Politics to Blame for Complicated Tax Returns?".
  • Direct Tax Filing: California, Maine, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania
  • "Help with CalFile". California Franchise Tax Board.
  • "ReadyReturn – Frequently Asked Questions" (PDF). California Franchise Tax Board. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-19.
  • Free Electronic Filing - Minnesota Revenue
  • "FTB's Free e-file Program, CalFile, Now Available in Spanish". Business Wire. March 24, 2008.
  • "File Your State Taxes for Free in California and Other States". The Balance.
  • "States' Free Online Tax Filing Services Often Overlooked: 23 States offer free online filing as of 11 April 2013". pew.org.
  • Map: State Web-Based Electronic Filing Methods (pre-filled & FreeFile), 21 January 2015
  • Duncan, Denvil; Li, Danyang (2018). "Liar Liar: Experimental Evidence of the Effect of Confirmation‐Reports on Dishonesty". Southern Economic Journal. 84 (3): 742. doi:10.1002/soej.12244. Retrieved 13 January 2021. Although there has been discussions about the merits of a pre-populated tax form in the US, the State of California is the only US government to have implemented them under their ReadyReturn initiative. ReadyReturn has since been cancelled, but its primary feature – pre-populating tax forms with pre-existing information – is still available with CalFile.
  • Valencia, Rebecca (Spring–Summer 2011). "Get Ready for the Return! How to Make Filing Tax Returns More Efficient: Applying the State of California Franchise Tax Board's ReadyReturn to the Federal Tax System". Rutgers Computer and Technology Law Journal. CS1 maint: Date format (link)

Deferred References [edit]

  • Glover, Mark (February 18, 2016). "Franchise Tax Board offering free online services to return filers". The Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on 2017-01-22. Retrieved 9 January 2021. Taxpayers also can use the "CalFile" link to file returns for free.
  • Bammer, Richard (10 October 2020). "Reminder: State income tax returns due Thursday". The Reporter (Vacaville). Digital First Media. Retrieved 9 January 2021. Taxpayers can file electronically free of charge using FTB's CalFile program. CalFile and a list of other free or fee-based e-file services are available at FTB's website, at www.ftb.ca.gov
  • "Last-minute tax filers have help". East Bay Times. MediaNews Group, Inc. 16 April 2006. Archived from the original on 2021-01-09. Retrieved 9 January 2021. The state saves $1 in processing costs for every return filed electronically, Westly said in a statement. State Controller and Franchise Tax Board Chairman Steve Westly is urging Californians to file their taxes electronically. The state's electronic filing system, CalFile, allows residents to file up until midnight on Monday. And taxpayers owed a refund can get money back within five to seven days, compared to six to eight weeks for paper returns.
  • DeBord, Matthew (12 April 2013). "April 15 tax deadline: What to do if you waited until the last minute (FAQ)". Southern California Public Radio . Retrieved 9 January 2021. The federal government supports a free online system called Free File. And California also provides free options. It's a direct and simple option for California residents," said John Roper, spokesman for California State Controller, John Chiang, who chairs the Franchise Tax Board, California's tax-collecting arm. "CalFile has been around since 2004-'05, and it takes less than 30 minutes. The controller believes it's a great option. Filing taxes is a burden and any way you lessen that burden can help taxpayers." Roper adds that CalFile lowers the cost to the state of dealing with taxes by $2 per return — and those savings translate into more money to spend on other services.
  • "California Income Tax Update" (PDF). Today's Consumer. Riverside, California: Cooperative Extension, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California. 30 (1). Winter 2011. CalFile is California's free online filing program. You can enter your information to complete and e-file your state tax return directly to the Franchise Tax Board using this free and secure site. The site offers tips for filing and YouTube videos describing how to file. There are some conditions where you may not qualify to use CalFile (i.e., you are claiming a disaster loss). So check the site for all the details.
  • Waldman, Paul (2019-04-09). "Why are Democrats helping Republicans do the bidding of the tax-prep industry?". Washington Post . Retrieved 9 January 2021. ReadyReturn survived on a small scale, and California has a free filing option called CalFile, but it's nothing like the broad return-free filing system some were hoping for.
  • "Oct.15 tax deadline approaches". Lassen News. Susanville, California: Feather Publishing Co., Inc. 10 October 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2021. Taxpayers can file electronically free of charge using FTB's CalFile program. CalFile and a list of other free or fee-based e-file services are available at FTB's website here.
  • Tax Complexity and Technology
by: David I. Walker, professor at Boston University School of Law
Maurice Poch Faculty Research Scholar
Areas of Interest: Corporate, Business & Transactional Law, Economics & Law, Tax Law
published as: No. 20-28 Boston U. School of Law, Law and Economics Research Paper (2020)

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I was reading some "COVID-19 pandemic" articles that had hatnotes which were complaining about raw link references. Can User:InternetArchiveBot archive them? .... 0mtwb9gd5wx (talk) 13:15, 21 June 2021 (UTC)

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