That’s still dumb AF, they could easily do like many other countries do and send you a breakdown of what you owe/getting back and why. You look it over and go “looks good to me” and have to do nothing or “This part is wrong” or “I qualify for Y tax break/incentive/credit” and then file some proof and you’re done.
But the tax prep companies lobby really hard to keep things as difficult as they are
That’s still dumb AF, they could easily do like many other countries do and send you a breakdown of what you owe/getting back and why. You look it over and go “looks good to me” and have to do nothing or “This part is wrong” or “I qualify for Y tax break/incentive/credit” and then file some proof and you’re done.
But the tax prep companies lobby really hard to keep things as difficult as they are
and there is a tax form that is setup exactly like this available for years. the 1040x. but they don’t use that to predo our taxes.