Comment by mfuzzey
1 day ago
Seems to be a thing in the US to need specialised software, an accountant or AI to file taxes.
In most of Europe individuals at least don't need any of that. I'm in France and it's just a connection to a government run website to enter a few figures, takes less than an hour most of it is already pre-entered (salary etc), the main thing to add manually is charitable donations.
If you're running a business then yes an accountant can be good (or be required depending on the legal form of the business) but not for individuals.
In the US you don't need software or an accountant either. People have been convinced it is hard, but the reality is taxes are basic math for most people. It isn't hard to copy the few figures from a couple forms and add them up, the look things up in a chart. It is tedious, but not hard. That said, I use the software anyway because once in a while I make a human mistake and those are annoying when the IRS catches latter.
There are a few people who have a complex situation who need an accountant. Most do not, but since they have never looked at what is really involved they don't realize what is going on.