IRS Direct File Will Not Be Offered Next Year

The program rolled out last year and was created to make tax filing easy, fast, and economical.

The Trump administration announced that IRS Direct File will not be offered next year.

The program rolled out last year and was created to make tax filing easy, fast, and economical. However, it faced criticism from Republican lawmakers, who referred to it as a waste of taxpayer money because free filing programs already exist. It was also criticized by commercial tax preparation companies which have made billions from charging people to use their software.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is also the current IRS commissioner, said that there are “better alternatives” to the electronic system for filing tax returns for free. He added that it was not used much and they think their private sector can do a better job.