IRS getting sloppier
I normally enjoy paying income tax. Non-NYC humans prefer to pay for services, and the government does still provide a few services along with screeching chaos and massive genocide. Social Security and the Post Office are consistent and competent services. Medicare works better than private "insurance".

Filling out tax forms was always fun for an old bookkeeper. For many years the forms were well-organized and rational. Last year the setup departed from rationality, adding an unnecessary Schedule 1 that carried a couple of redundant numbers with no purpose. This year the C-EZ form was eliminated, which resulted in MORE complexity on both ends.

For an author-type independent contractor, C-EZ was just enough info. I don't have regular hours or regular expenses. Some years I work more than full-time, and some years I don't need to work at all. I could try to write down expenses for necessary software or new computers, but those expenses wouldn't decrease the tax enough to compensate for the risk of audits.

The full Form C has a mysterious question about 'participation':

Did you “materially participate” in the operation of this business during 2019?

The accompanying instructions give a long list of criteria but don't explain the PURPOSE of the question. Online info doesn't help either. I'm guessing it's meant to distinguish silent partners? Checking the box doesn't change anything, doesn't increase or decrease tax. It's just a box.

An author 'materially participates', but the royalties come in when the product is sold, not when I work. In the last three years I've been working more than full time with very little income; in some previous years I worked very little and got good money. It depends on the publisher's selling ability. The rules about 'participation' don't leave room for this style of work.

Cutting out C-EZ made the task harder and more mysterious for me, and didn't eliminate any effort on the other end. They have one less form to set up for OCR, but they have a lot more blanks to read and evaluate.

Labels: coot-proofing

  ¶ 11:34 PM