The Trump administration is doing away with the Direct File program, the online tax filing tool rolled out by the Biden administration that allowed taxpayers to file their taxes for free online, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.
Republicans have been blasting the Direct File program since its creation in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, with Senate Finance Committee members calling it “illegitimate and unnecessary.”
The multibillion-dollar tax prep industry lobbied hard against the program. A consortium of tax prep companies once maintained a non-compete agreement with the IRS saying that the tax collector couldn’t offer a service comparable to their own.
Groups focused on making the government more tech savvy lamented the termination.
Code for America CEO Amanda Renteria said the cancellation of the service represents a “dark day.”
“Filing a tax return is one of the most fundamental interactions many Americans have with the federal government,” she said. “This isn't just a step backward for tax administration—it's a betrayal of public trust.”
Former IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel, a Biden appointee, said last year that Direct File would be made permanent.
“Starting with the 2025 filing season, the IRS will make Direct File a permanent option for filing federal tax returns,” he said.
— Tobias Burns
