Your taxes just got a whole lot easier (and cheaper!)

Good news for taxpayers tired of shelling out hundreds of dollars on tax preparation software.

The IRS piloted a new free electronic filing software in twelve states this tax season. After it proved successful, the tax authority announced that it could be available nationwide next year. “For the 2025 filing season, the IRS will work with all states that want to partner with Direct File, and there will be no limit to the number of states that can participate in the coming year,” reported the tax authority. This means that whether it will be available in all fifty states is up to the individual governments to work with the IRS to make the software available to their residents. The list of participating states will be published in the coming months.

The feedback from users

Direct File users were surveyed about their experience as part of the pilot, and around 15,000 filers participated. Nine out of ten respondents rated their experience using Direct File as “Excellent or Above Average.” Additionally, users were impressed by the “ease of use” and the free product. When asked how users would rate the likelihood that the user would recommend the product, around 74 percent responded that they would.

Plans to improve the software

The agency is also looking to integrate more features into the software to, in their words, “broaden Direct File’s availability across the nation, including covering more tax situations and inviting all states to partner with Direct File next year.”

Currently, Direct File works well for taxpayers with very simple returns. The IRS’ goal, however, is to ensure that the software is improved “to support most common tax situations, with a particular focus on those situations that impact working families.”