You don't have to do that. There is no such requirement. You can fill out the forms for free.

But that's a bad solution. (Otherwise why do TurboTax et al even exist in the first place?)

IRS should just have a public free filing solution for everyone. If you have complicated taxes or want to do your own filing, you can still do that.

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terminalshort 19 hours ago | parent [-]

They do. https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/free-file-fillable-form.... And no it isn't a bad solution. I use it every year.

	▲	nielsbot 9 hours ago \| parent [-]
		From their description: "You do the work" That's not what we're talking about. What we're talking about is: "We did your tax return for you based on all the information reported to us. Please click 'OK' to complete your return for the year."