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https://github.com/b-k/py1040

A U.S. personal income tax calculator
https://github.com/b-k/py1040

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A U.S. personal income tax calculator

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README 

        
py1040

======



This is a tax calculator for one individual U.S. tax return—Internal Revenue Service form 1040.



First, you will take a short interview:



An interview form, actually a standard Python file with assignments like `status="married"` and `over_65=False`



This will generate a personalized list of inputs for you to provide:



Another standard Python file with lines for variables with names like `1040_wages` and `f1040_interest`. Lines are documented with comments.



From those, you will get output that roughly follows the tax forms:



Output, headed "Form 1040". Each line has a line number from the IRS form, a title like `taxable interest` and `tax minus credits`



### Quick start



0. Build it, via `make`. This will pull a copy of 1040.js (See

   https://b-k.github.io/1040.js for the attractive front end), and generate

   Python versions of the forms.

1. Run `python3 taxes.py`, which will generate a file named `interview.py`.

2. Open `interview.py` in your text editor, and follow the instructions to provide

   information about your tax situation.

3. Run `python3 taxes.py` again. It will generate `inform.py`.

4. Open `inform.py` and fill in the information from your W-2s and other such sources.

5. Run `python3 taxes.py` again. It will calculate your taxes and print the line-by-line

   calculations to the screen.

   



### Caveats



This program is not a tax tutor or advisor; there are many other sources that can

help you optimize your tax situation. This is just a calculator, that may be useful in

the process. For example, double-checking the work of another tax system using py1040

may reveal mistakes or even tax opportunities.



There are many elements of the system that are not yet implemented. The lead author is not

self-employed and doesn't have a farm, so Schedules C and F are not implemented.



Please note this section from the license, which the license authors felt was important

enough to put in all-caps:



> THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.  EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE PROGRAM "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU.



This version was first written by BK over the course of a weekend at home, and is therefore not

endorsed by or otherwise related to his employer.



### Contributing



Each form is represented as a file holding a dictionary of cells, where each cell

represents a line of the tax code. The cell includes the text to print, the line number,

the calculation to do, whether the cell needs to be part of `inform.py`, and the list of

the cell's parent cells. That dictionary is at https://github.com/b-k/1040.js , in a

relatively language-independent format that both the Javascript and Python version parse

into functions. [https://github.com/b-k/1040.js/blob/master/Contributing.md] covers all the details.



Adding a form, then, consists of transcribing this information for each needed line. This

is straightforward, and has proven to take only a few seconds per line.

We considered using the XML schemata here:

https://www.irs.gov/Tax-Professionals/e-File-Providers-&-Partners/Schemas-Business-Rules-and-Release-Memo-for-MeF-Form-1040-Series-Tax-Year-2015-Version-3_1

but it turns out to be easier to just cut/paste/modify the lines from the PDF forms.