WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 15: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building stands on April 15, 2019 in Washington, DC. April 15 is the deadline in the United States for residents to file their income tax ...

Direct File was launched as a pilot program in 2024. It allowed eligible taxpayers in a limited number of states to file their federal returns directly with the IRS at no cost. The program was ...

Over two dozen states incorporated the free tax software in 2025, but the IRS has decided to discontinue the program. Peter is a writer and editor for the CNET How-To team. He has been covering ...

Free filing system has some limitations in year two but number of tax forms has increased and automated data input has improved. Danni Santana spent nine years as an editor and business journalist ...

Direct File, the Internal Revenue Service’s long-promised free tax filing software, might be at risk of being killed off by the Trump administration, but the code that made the service possible will ...

Caren Weiner is the lead editor for consumer finance at Forbes Advisor. During her decades as a personal finance journalist, she has covered mutual funds, taxes, banking and health insurance ...

IRS Free File is one way in which taxpayers can file their returns and payments with the federal tax service free of charge. Usually, private tax preparers charge fees on some or all of their services ...

A direct path to the IRS threatened a powerful player in tax prep. Now the project is gone. The Watchdog explains how—and why ...