When it comes to their federal income tax returns, tens of millions of US households pay for tax preparation and filing. Yet many might qualify to do so for free through IRS-approved programs. So why ...

Elizabeth Guevara is a personal finance reporter who explains the world of business and economics and how it impacts your finances. She joined Investopedia in 2024. Getty Images The IRS Direct File ...

Only 2% of federal income tax returns were filed through Free File, despite 70% of filers qualifying. Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who ...

A venerable IRS program called Free File allows 70% of taxpayers to file their taxes for free, just as the name implies. Only 2% of taxpayers used the service in 2024. That is the finding of a ...

Tax season is officially underway, and the Internal Revenue Service has begun accepting individual federal tax returns for 2026 through its free guided software program, IRS Free File. The IRS opened ...

(NEXSTAR) – In 2025, nearly 300,000 Americans used a new electronic system to file their taxes directly with the IRS for free. In 2026, that’s no longer an option. IRS Direct File launched as a pilot ...

Americans will have one fewer free option to file their taxes in 2026 after the Trump administration killed IRS Direct File. Without it, Direct File supporters said Americans will end up spending more ...

The Trump administration has shut down the IRS "Direct File" program, which was a free tax filing option. Critics of Direct File cited high development costs and low user participation for its closure ...

While taxes are inevitable for most Americans, the government doesn’t require those with sufficiently low incomes to file. However, choosing not to file usually means forfeiting profitable tax breaks ...