I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t expect the IRS to do my taxes. My point was that employers and various agencies go to the trouble and expense to send W-2s, 1099s etc. to the IRS and apparently they are never used to verify the information provided by taxpayers. Seems like a waste of paper, computer space, money and time for a lot of people. Not to mention unnecessary delays in tax refunds.
I always assumed that the copies of W-2’s, 1099s, etc. from employers and agencies were sent to the IRS electronically and filed away in some massive database. But, maybe the IRS isn’t that sophisticated yet. My backup documents could be in a cardboard box on a dusty storage room shelf.
