"The program developed during Joe Biden's presidency was credited by users with making tax filing easy, fast and economical. However, it faced criticism from Republican lawmakers, who called it a waste of taxpayer money because free filing programs already exist (though they are difficult to use), and from commercial tax preparation companies, which have made billions from charging people to use their software."
"The Center for Taxpayer Rights filed a Freedom of Information Act request for IRS' latest evaluation of the program and the report says 296,531 taxpayers submitted accepted returns for the 2025 tax season through Direct File. That's up from the 140,803 submitted accepted returns in 2024."
"IRS Direct File will not be available in Filing Season 2026. No launch date has been set for the future."
IRS Direct File will not be available in Filing Season 2026, according to an IRS communication to participating state comptrollers. The program launched as a 2024 pilot after a mandate tied to Inflation Reduction Act funding and received tens of millions in development spending. Users praised its speed and cost savings, while Republican lawmakers and commercial tax-preparation firms criticized it and lobbied against it. The current Treasury secretary and IRS commissioner said the system saw limited uptake and that private-sector alternatives are preferable. FOIA-obtained data show accepted returns rose from 140,803 in 2024 to 296,531 in 2025.
Read at ABC7 Los Angeles
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