I used the TurboTax iPad app the other week to do my taxes. I was able to get them filed within about an hour.

It was a good and relatively seamless experience for someone my age and without complex circumstances, especially with TurboTax having dropped its $30 state filing fee from last year.

It was seamless because I made a habit of storing key information (W2s, charitable gifts, etc.) in a digital folder over the course of the year. There’s no scramble to assemble key documents at the end of the year. I’ve only gotten good at this in the past year or two, but I’m happy to have made this part of my life routine.

If Congress were smart, they would have the IRS acquire TurboTax (or build their own version) and make this format and process free and simple for everyone, with all the information the IRS already has on file for you automatically populated and ready to go.