this post was submitted on 17 Oct 2023
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I live in Norway, and every institution like banks, employers etc reports to the tax authority. My tax papers are prefilled and the only thing I have to do is check that everything is correct. Most times it is, it's just major stuff like buying a house, getting married, moving etc which might entitle you to deductions that's not automatically added. If I don't do anything, the prefilled default is filed on a certain date, so I never even have to sign in and open the tax forms if I don't want to.
If you run your own business as a sole proprietorship taxes gets more complicated, but most people don't do that.
Oh our system in the US works the exact same way... Except you also have to send the IRS your own version that they will then compare to what your employer and financial institutions sent them. Better send it in too, because they need both versions to compare of course. And if you mess it up they'll check every nook and cranny of your financials and under all your mattresses and couch cushions for that discrepancy.