The IRS Direct File program will not be offered for the 2026 filing season. Under President Donald Trump's new 2025 tax bill, this free program was set to end as early as December 31, 2025. And this month, the IRS and Treasury confirmed the free filing program will shutter Direct File.
IRS Direct File launched during the Biden administration as a way to file your taxes with the federal tax agency for free. At the time, there were only 12 participating pilot states. This past tax season, twenty-five states participated, with an estimated 30 million taxpayers eligible to use the service.
Instead of Direct File, the Treasury will reportedly work on a similar (though different) IRS Free File.
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Here's more of what you need to know.
What was IRS Direct File?
Direct File was a free way for taxpayers to file directly with the IRS. It was created after the tax agency found that many filers would be interested in such a program, with funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a signature piece of legislation from the Biden administration.
- For the 2024 filing season, Direct File's initial pilot proved a success across 12 participating states, with over 140,000 taxpayers using the service.
- According to the IRS, most reported their experience with the program as “Excellent” or “Above Average.”
- In tax season 2025, the Direct File program opened on January 27 (the day the IRS officially began accepting returns), and 30 million taxpayers were expected to be eligible.)
However, participation was on a state-by-state basis. Basically, you could only use Direct File if you lived in a nonparticipating state, the District of Columbia, or a U.S. territory.
IRS Free File vs. Direct File: What’s the difference?
While they may have similar names, the IRS Free File program differs from the IRS Direct File program. Free File partners with private-sector companies to offer free tax filing services, but some providers charge for state tax returns.
Direct File had free state returns with 25 participating states and directly filed with the IRS, but not all states chose to participate.
Additionally, unique eligibility requirements separated the two programs. Free File is generally for taxpayers with lower- to middle-income. For tax year 2025, that’s an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $84,000 or less (for guided tax software).
Comparatively, Direct File had the following income limits:
Filing Status | Income Limit (must be less than) |
Single Filer | $200,000 in one income source ($168,600 if multiple employers) |
Married Filing Jointly | $250,000 in combined income ($168,600 if multiple employers) AND under $200,000 for one spouse |
Married Filing Separate | $125,000 in income |
Additionally, Direct File was limited by the types of income the tool could accept.
Commonly accepted incomes included: W-2s, Social Security, unemployment benefits, interest income, and HSA distributions.
Also, if you had income types that fell outside of that, like distributions from 401(k)s, pensions, annuities, or IRAs, you could not use Direct File. Certain deductions and credits were also limited to Direct File.
Is Direct File gone for good?
A lot has happened in the news lately, leaving some to wonder: Is the IRS Direct file going away?
The answer is: Yes.
According to AP News, IRS official Cynthia Noe sent an email earlier this month to state comptrollers that typically participate in the program.
"IRS Direct File will not be available in Filing Season 2026. No launch date has been set for the future."
The announcement came just before a U.S. Treasury Department task force report, recommending the future direction of the program. Among the reasons cited were cost and low uptake. The program had cost about $138 per return to administer, though the uptake had
Instead, the GOP seeks to further improve the IRS's Free File program. However, Direct File was established to address the limitations of Free File, like income limits and differing tax situations.
Income limits aside, some are concerned that the call for Direct File elimination is mainly due to Direct File's competition with commercial tax preparation software, like H&R Block and TurboTax.
Taxpayers who had used Direct File for the last two years should begin looking at other free ways to file taxes for the 2026 filing season.
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