Trump Administration Plans To End IRS Direct File Program

Republican lawmakers and commercial tax preparation companies argued that it was a waste of taxpayer money because free filing programs already exist.

The Trump administration is planning to end the IRS Direct File program for free tax filing.

The program became available during the Biden presidency and was credited by users with making tax filing easy, fast and economical.

However Republican lawmakers and commercial tax preparation companies argued that it was a waste of taxpayer money because free filing programs already exist.

According to the IRS, over 400,000 taxpayers logged into Direct File and nearly 150,000 submitted accepted returns last year.

The agency has faced intense blowback to Direct Filers from private tax preparation companies that have made billions from charging people to use their software and have spent millions lobbying Congress.

The average American typically spends about $140 preparing returns each year.