In a prepared response to the U.S. Treasury's announcement last Friday (6/29/2018) concerning the new IRS Form 1040 for tax season 2019, Intuit indicated that they have long advocated for tax simplification reform for American taxpayers starting with their testimony before Congress in 2005 in which they stated, “tax simplification is in the best interest of the nation, our citizens, and the government itself”.
Postcard-size Form_1040_side 1
On Friday, the I.R.S. unveiled a draft version of their proposed postcard-size Form 1040 that was promised in last year's tax reform efforts. It is anticipated that this new 1040 Form will replace the current Form 1040, Form 1040A and Form 1040EZ for the 2019 tax season (all 2018 tax period filings).
Postcard-size Form_1040_side2
While the actual tax form maybe smaller (the promised 'post-card' size) that doesn't really mean that the tax preparation, computation and completion process will be simplified as there are likely to be even more 'additional schedules' required for anyone who is not among the most simplistic income earners and taking only the standard deduction.
The IRS announced that it would be working with the 'tax preparation community' to insure that the streamlined Form 1040 would be available, and to also make certain that both tax preparers and taxpayers would both have the educational resources needed to prepare the new form properly.
Intuit responded to the IRS/U.S.Treasury announcement by indicating that they would "be ready to deliver the new 1040 and other tax changes and reforms to taxpayers, assisting the IRS and Treasury as they implement the new tax legislation for the nation." They also added that they "look forward to delivering innovative solutions that will deliver on the promise of tax simplification reform for the U.S. taxpayer."