Doesn't the government have a record of my w2s before I report them?

In the past, the government did not have copies of your W-2s before many people filed. In the last few years, the IRS has been allowed by Congress to move forward the due date by which employers are required to send copies of W-2s to employers.

Even though the IRS is copied on many forms, they may not have a complete picture of your tax situation. That is why bluedeb notes that you still have to enter your tax data.

There are bills before Congress to allow the IRS to send income tax bills to many taxpayers, since, indeed, for simple taxpayers, the IRS may have enough information to pre-fill in the return.

But even if this comes to pass, you will still be able to file your own return if you choose, because you may have situations not accounted for in the forms that the IRS has received.