IRS, Treasury Department make direct, free tax filing system permanent

The U.S. government on Thursday said that the system, which it tested in 12 states this past year, could expand to the rest of the country for the 2025 tax season. The system allows taxpayers to file their taxes directly with the Internal Revenue Service online and for free, meaning taxpayers don’t have to fill out forms by hand or use systems such as TurboTax, which can often charge consumers a fee if they have a complicated tax situation. The option is limited to federal taxes and does not include state taxes.

What is this rollout going to look like? The IRS said it would provide more details on how it would roll out the system to the rest of the country. Interested states would be free to partner with the IRS and the U.S. Department of the Treasury to make the system accessible for their taxpayers. The IRS said the program would be just one option out of many for Americans filing their taxes.

Does this direct system work? The IRS described the pilot program during this past tax season as “successful.” It reported that roughly 90 percent of survey respondents said they had an excellent or above-average experience with the program. Respondents said they liked that the program was free and that it had increased their trust in the IRS. Generally, users reported that they finished filing their taxes within an hour—some in as little as 30 minutes.

However, only those with simple tax situations could participate in the program. Those with more complex situations had to file their taxes using other means. The Treasury Department reports that the average American spends 13 hours and $270 filing taxes. As the program expands, the IRS hopes to increase the number of tax situations the system can support. The agency added that it will seek especially to address those tax situations that confront middle-class working families.

Dig deeper: Listen to Lindsay Mast’s segment on The World and Everything in It podcast about how the U.S. tax code offers creative ways for Americans to save money.