Looks to me like the new 1040 “postcard” is going to make tax filing more complex and expensive for many taxpayers. More will have to file schedules, which typically means tax preparers will charge them higher fees. 1/7
Take a couple who has 3 kids, claims the child care credit, health premium credit, and student loan interest deduction, and owes some tax on excess advanced premium credits and early withdrawals from their 401(k). 2/7
Instead of just filing the 1040, they now have to file the 1040 “postcard” plus new Schedules 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. And it appears they’ll have to file another unspecified schedule for their 3rd child because there is only space to list 2 kids. 3/7
Here is the new draft 1040 “postcard” and the new draft schedules. irs.gov/pub/irs-dft/f1… nytimes.com/2018/06/25/you… 4/7
We don’t know how tax preparers will change their pricing structures, but if past experience is any guide, they’ll charge more to file 8 pages of forms on behalf of the customer instead of 2. Not exactly simplification! 5/7
Moreover, the 1040 “postcard” doesn’t just replace the 1040, but also the 1040A and 1040EZ. If this family hadn’t withdrawn from their 401(k), they could have filed a 1040A, which most companies prepare for free. Meaning the couple’s filing costs will probably rise even more. 6/7
Here’s a list of how many millions of people used various lines on the old 1040 that now require separate schedules because of the “postcard” (which is actually too big to mail as a postcard, but that’s for another day). Data is from 2015 (latest available). 7/7 
