It’s that time of year again: I start thinking about how inefficient the tax preparation process is. And this is not targeted at the IRS (though it deserves it), but rather tax prep software. Every year I think, “Why, when there are so few bits of actual data that I need to feed in, does this take so damn long?” I think the answer is that I don’t fit the TurboTax/TaxAct profile very well. I’m much closer to being the guy filling out the forms by hand with a copy of JK Lasser next to him, but I also can’t stand the idea of doing–and redoing–all of that math by hand.
I’ve seen a couple of Python/text-based tax projects recently and I’m more than a little interested (py1040, python-taxes). I already use Ledger for finances and the idea of a simple text file that I can manage in git is something I want to spread to as many areas as possible. I don’t really care too much for the particular way these two projects are handling taxes, but the idea is really good. So good that this evening I was toying around with some proofs of concept for ways to capture both form particulars (i.e. the math and logic), as well as the individual’s numbers that flow into the forms. Python is a good choice. I found that I could express both aspects as Python without it looking like a program. And by using Python even for the “data entry” part of it, once can nicely capture intermediate calculations and do simple math that results in some number which the form requires. With all this checked in to git, the following year will be much easier since all of the previous notes and calculations will be in place.
It’s way too late for this to become part of the 2015 tax season, but I am keen to throw enough together to see how the results compare to my real return. I know that if I don’t make some progress now, while taxes are on my mind, it certainly isn’t going to happen in July.