Posts by George Kern9

Magic Wand,

$1667 should actually be the gross amount rather than just the total cost, which would mean he's walking away with $3,225 instead of $1000.
Am I totally off base here? I was messing around with this calculator I found:
http://www.isplate.info/kalkulator-u...jelu-2019.aspx

And honestly, how does that whole tax refund thing even work anyway? Like, what's the actual law on that...

I remember there used to be this annual tax rate sitting at 12 percent, but if I recall correctly, they scrapped that entirely...

Thanks

Yeah, so you have to pay for a digital certificate, which they can load onto a credit card or a specialized USB token from the payment processor or your bank. Honestly, though, I don't think most major banks even offer that kind of setup for individual consumers... they usually just leave it to the big fintech companies.
Devilgirl, which specific bank are you talking about, and would you actually recommend them? Is their service any good or just a total headache?

silverbadger said:The thing is, the IRS portal itself doesn't charge a fee to use.
Another point to consider is that to get access in the first place, you have to maintain a specialized bank account through a provider like Chase, which carries a monthly service fee of about $5.

No matter how you slice it, using the IRS site isn't free... though I don't think it's quite $17 + tax per month.

On the Fidelity website, it says right here:
If you don't want to use Fidelity's online services and instead decide to just use digital certificates on a Fidelity e-card or a USB token solely for electronic signatures, the fees are as follows:

Business digital certificates on a Fidelity e-card or USB token

Issuance of two digital certificates
$130 / annually

Business entity registration*
$27 / one-time fee

Card reader
$30 / one-time fee

Now, if an electronic signature is all you need to file forms through the IRS service, then the price is $130 + tax per year. But then why on earth are they listing the price for two digital certificates? If one certificate is enough, shouldn't the price be $93 + tax per year, according to what's listed here at

Can someone please make sense of this mess for me...
Thanks

Carol Price4 said:Jack Young hit the nail on the head—the IRS Portal is $0.00, but what you're talking about is the FERC Portal—that's for people who want to file electronically, but honestly, you can just hand in paper copies and skip that $50 + sales tax fee entirely.

The JOPPD goes right through the IRS Portal and it's free—so basically, you won't be stuck paying for the FERC Portal anymore...

Look, if you want to actually use the IRS online system, you can't just log in whenever you feel like it; you need a physical smart card or a USB security token loaded with digital certificates issued by a provider like IDEMIA. That's clearly stated all over the official government websites.
You can check the pricing for those certificates on the IDEMIA site here

I mean, seriously, what kind of twisted math are you people using to come up with a result of $0.00...

David Parker44 said:Does anyone actually know what the fee is for using the IRS Portal?

$17 plus sales tax every month.

To actually get into the IRS Portal or the FERC Portal, you’re going to need an official government smart card or some kind of USB token loaded with those digital certificates... basically, if you want that specific service package with the government-issued smart card, it'll run you $17 + sales tax per month.

Regarding filing those SEC forms through the FERC Portal, the documentation says: "The service also allows for printing electronically signed Page A of the SEC form, and users can also get additional verification at local bank branches."
Does that mean you still have to physically drag your SEC forms down to a bank branch after you've already sent them via the FERC Portal? Because if that's the case, then what on earth is the point of using the FERC Portal in the first place... right?

And does anything really change once the new consolidated tax forms arrive, other than the fact that they replace those old individual forms and we won't need the FERC Portal for SEC filings since everything gets funneled through the IRS Portal anyway? It seems like a lot of moving parts...
Thanks

Hey there,
I could really use some advice here... Since my income stays pretty low, I’ve just been operating as a sole proprietor. Occasionally, I get some money coming in from overseas, which falls under "other income" on my tax filings. I’m really hoping to handle all my pension contributions, tax payments, and filing those specific IRS forms online to save myself the headache, but the big banks over here charge $17 + sales tax every single month just to access those services.
I was wondering what you guys typically charge for this kind of thing, especially since the major financial institutions offer deep discounts to full-scale accounting firms. Feel free to shoot me a private message if that's easier.

Thanks!

Hey there,
I’m looking for some guidance here because I’m a bit stuck... Since my income isn't exactly massive, I currently operate as a sole proprietor rather than a formal corporation. I get these occasional payments from overseas that all fall under "other income," and honestly, I just want to handle my Social Security contributions, taxes, and all those tedious IRS filings online without losing my mind... but I have no clue what this is actually going to cost me.
Do I really need to sign up for one of those expensive business service packages with a dedicated Chase business debit card, $17 plus deal with monthly sales tax filings that companies use, or is it enough to just grab a standard personal digital ID?
As an individual, I can apparently request a digital certificate on a USB drive or just go with a software-based one, but when you dig into the official IRS or bank websites, it’s all such a mess and they don't clearly explain which one I actually need or how they differ from the heavy-duty business versions... it's just incredibly vague...
Does anyone happen to know what local accounting firms usually charge for setting all this stuff up?

Thanks!