Free Republic

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Bill Long said the agency will end its Direct File program after a limited pilot and one full filing season. President Donald Trump’s massive spending and policy bill includes funding to research and “replace any direct e-file programs run by the Internal Revenue Service.” Already, the program is “gone,” Long said at a tax professional summit on July 28, Bloomberg Law reports. “You’ve heard of Direct File, that’s gone,” Long said. “Big beautiful Billy wiped that out. I don’t care about Direct File. I care about direct audit.” The agency has not confirmed the future of...

The Trump administration plans to eliminate the IRS’ Direct File program, an electronic system for filing tax returns directly to the agency for free, according to two people familiar with the decision. The program developed during Joe Biden’s presidency was credited by users with making tax filing easy, fast and economical. But Republican lawmakers and commercial tax preparation companies complained it was a waste of taxpayer money because free filing programs already exist, although they are hard to use. The program had been in limbo since the start of the Trump administration as Elon Musk and the Department of Government...

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) plans to roll out a free way to file federal taxes, much to the chagrin of tax preparation firm TurboTax. The IRS is launching a pilot plan, known as Direct File, that will offer a free way to submit taxes for U.S. workers. In December, the agency published its plans for an in-house filing system that taxpayers can use to submit their federal tax returns at no cost. Residents of 12 states that meet certain income criteria will be able to try the new service. To qualify, filers need to opt for the standard deduction...