IRS Kills Off Popular Free Direct File Option For The 2026 Tax Filing Season

The IRS has discontinued its popular Direct File program, a free online tax filing option for taxpayers, for the upcoming 2026 tax filing season. The Trump administration has decided to shelve the program, with the IRS notifying participating states via email that Direct File will no longer be available. While the IRS has not made an official public announcement, the program's former web page now displays a message stating "Direct File is closed." Users are unable to access past filings through the site and must submit Form 4506 to retrieve copies of their returns. The Direct File program, which allowed eligible taxpayers to file their taxes directly with the IRS at no cost, was established as a pilot program following a mandate in the Inflation Reduction Act for the IRS to study the feasibility of such a system. The IRS reported overwhelmingly positive feedback from users during its limited rollout for the 2024 tax filing season, citing high satisfaction rates and significant cost savings for taxpayers. The program was expanded for the 2025 tax filing season to include more states and a wider range of tax situations, and Treasury had indicated it would become permanent. However, the program faced opposition from some Republicans in Congress. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) includes a provision to create a task force to explore public-private partnerships for free tax filing and to replace IRS-run direct e-file programs. This task force is tasked with reporting on the cost of enhancing and establishing such partnerships and gauging public opinion on government-run versus private sector free filing services. Despite the discontinuation of Direct File, the IRS Free File program, a public-private pa... download the app to read more