Each year, Americans spend an average of $240 to prepare and file their annual tax returns, according to the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service.
And the process is so complicated that about one million taxpayers who could get money back don’t file returns, allowing the U.S. Treasury to keep more than $1 billion of their money.
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Many taxpayers can get free assistance preparing and filing their returns. Below is a rundown of available services, who is eligible, and how to avoid scams.
All these prep-and-filing options require you to track down documents and then enter or verify data. Fortunately, most websites are easy to navigate. Instead of filling out complicated forms and instructions, you answer simple questions, such as “Do you have children living with you?” and “Did you have interest income from a bank, savings, or investment account?”
Warning: Don’t search the internet using terms such as “file my taxes for free”-you could end up on the website of a scammer, or even a well-known tax prep brand that will charge you hefty fees. Instead, use the links provided in this article, or go to irs.gov.
Trump Administration Ends IRS Direct File Program
The Direct File program was built by the IRS to allow people with relatively simple returns to file them online without using third-party software.
Unfortunately, although Direct File could have provided an efficient way for most Americans to deal with their tax returns-and a free way to file them-this past fall the Trump administration announced it had shut down the program.
Checkbook and other consumer advocates are mystified by this decision. After a successful pilot program in 2024, Direct File was available to taxpayers in 25 states for the 2025 tax-filing season. Customer satisfaction with the program was very high: Ninety-four percent of users described their experiences positively. And, most importantly, Direct File provided a path for dramatically simplifying tax prep work: Because the IRS already collects lots of info about our earnings, Direct File could have imported those data and simply asked users to verify the numbers. It’s a process that already exists in many other countries.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury claims it shut down Direct File because not many taxpayers used it. That’s an astonishingly nonsensical argument: The program had been widely available for only last year, and during that period the Treasury ordered its staff to halt any marketing and outreach efforts for it. Few taxpayers eligible to use the program ever knew about its existence.
Not surprisingly, the for-profit tax prep industry spent millions lobbying against the free-to-use program.
CashApp Offers Free Tax-Prep Software and e-Filing to Everyone
The peer-to-peer payment app is the only company that offers free tax preparation software and free e-filing to everyone; it has no paid option.
Most taxpayers can complete their returns using CashApp’s platform: It supports entry of 1099 income and most tax forms, but its interface requires more manual input than other tax-prep companies.
Also, you can’t use CashApp’s tax-prep website if you’re married filing separately, need to file in more than one state, or are a nonresident alien.
The other downside: You must first create an account with CashApp, and we have a very dim view of peer-to-peer payment apps.
CashApp also has no staff to provide guidance or answer questions.
But if you have a simple return, don’t need help preparing your return, and don’t qualify for free services from one of the options discussed below, CashApp is worth considering.
Many Consumers Can Get Free Services from Several Tax Prep Companies
Several tax-prep companies provide free online resources for those with low- or moderate-low incomes. (Direct File was available to families with incomes below about $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for married couples.)
“Free File” is a partnership between the IRS and eight companies (the IRS calls them “trusted partners”) to provide free tax preparation and filing
services for individuals and families with Adjusted Gross Incomes of $89,000 or less.
This year, the participating companies are: 1040.com, 1040NOW.net, ezTaxReturn.com, FileYourTaxes.com, FreeTaxUSA.com, OLT.com, TaxAct.com, and TaxSlayer.com.
In addition to the income threshold requirement, each company sets its own eligibility rules based on age, state residency, and other factors. Some companies charge fees to prepare and/or file state income tax returns. Click here for a list of participating companies and links to their eligibility requirements.
Although H&R Block and TurboTax, the most popular tax prep software companies, do not participate in the IRS’ Free File program, they do offer free online prep-and-filing services to those with relatively simple tax returns.
In general, you can use these two companies’ free options if you had wages reported on a W-2, had only one job, take the sta…
ibahagi sa twitter: Trump administration shuts down IRS Direct File taxpayers to seek other free options