IRS expands Direct File program to more states amid Trump administration's push to end it
The IRS has expanded its Direct File program to eight more states, but its future remains uncertain over government scale back from the Trump administration.
The IRS has expanded its Direct File program to eight more states, but its future remains uncertain over government scale back from the Trump administration.
The IRS has expanded its Direct File program to eight more states, but its future remains uncertain over government scale back from the Trump administration.
The IRS has expanded its free program to eight more states for the 2025 tax filing season, but its future remains uncertain over government scale back directed under the Trump administration.
It is the second year for the free and online way to file your tax return, which now includes eligible states like Connecticut, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The program provides a way for people in simple tax situations to file their taxes.
Advocates want more options for people who may not realize they can file on their own.
"[People] don't want to pay $100 to $200 to a tax preparation company when they could do it for free," Samantha Jacoby from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said. "There is a multi-billion dollar tax industry that has been spending millions of dollars in lobbying costs to attack the program."
Some, like former IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel, call the program an improvement.
"When [taxpayers] have to file, we want to reduce their stress and make the process easier," Werfel said.
But others are not convinced, including several Republicans in Congress who are pushing legislation asking President Donald Trump to shut down the program, questioning its necessity and legality.
"Why didn't the IRS encourage the existing free file system instead of creating a duplicative system?" Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Ohio, said.
Others have also raised concerns on the motivation behind the program.
"Direct File was never authorized by Congress," Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Nebraska, said. "The agency that enforces it is also the agency that collects when there's a lot of room for human error. We've seen the IRS in the past audit millions of Americans who already did the right thing."
Smith also suggests the IRS should do more to clear up confusion about taxes.
"The IRS needs to do better in terms of customer service long before they should be concerned about this Direct File," Smith said.
Republicans also point to Trump's tax cuts for making the system more efficient. The law nearly doubled the standard deduction, simplifying filing for people who may have previously itemized expenses.
Meanwhile, President Trump's most recent action, enacting a hiring freeze at the IRS, may further threaten the future of the program. The so-called Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, claims to have "deleted" the Direct File program, although the website as of Friday is still available.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says it will stay that way through this filing season, but maybe not next year.
Direct File has been a bipartisan success at the state level. A mix of red and blue states integrated tools into the program so people can file their state taxes at the same time.
The Democrat-only Inflation Reduction Act included tens of billions of dollars for the IRS to modernize and improve its customer service, some of which Republicans cut as part of 2023's debt ceiling deal, and they've promised more cuts.
The GOP says the IRS will use the money to target taxpayers with audits, but the Biden administration directed the IRS to focus only on people making more than $400,000 a year.