DQOTD: Why are W-4 & 1099s required when you don't eFile?

[Midpack]

If you eFile, you don't send anything in, so why are W-2s, 1099s and about 15 pages of forms REQUIRED when you mail in? I've eFiled Fed for years (free) but I mail in state returns because they want to charge me $19.95 to (presumably) make their lives easier.

Must be they're hoping if they make mailing as difficult and senseless as possible, I'll pay their eFile fee. Fat chance...

[pb4uski]

I think part of it is because in many cases the info from the W-2s, 1099s etc that you enter into TT is part of what is filed electronically, so they have something from you to check back to what has been reported under your TIN for income from employers, brokers, etc.

I finally broke down this year and filed my resident state return electronically and just paid the bloody $20. (not happy about it tho..)

[W2R]

Wow, I guess we are lucky. Filing Louisiana income tax on the Louisiana Department of Revenue website is not only easy (since it is heavily based on one's federal return), but also FREE.... So, I take advantage of that.

If you are mailing in your taxes, it doesn't seem like much trouble to me to just toss in copies of one's various forms.

[ziggy29]

My guess would be that it's because it would require additional manual processing to link the hardcopies with the 1099s and W-2 that employers and payers transmitted to the IRS. When you send an electronic return, their computers could just link the return to the forms they have on file to validate the amounts listed on the return.

Just a guess, though.

[JakeBrake]

This year I efiled my Fed tax through TT, as always. This year TT printed out a transmittal page that said I had to mail via USPS a copy of a form 1098C that Kidney Kars had sent me since a car I had donated sold at auction for more than $500.