The Trump administration plans to end the IRS Direct File program, an electronic system that allowed taxpayers to file their tax returns directly to the agency for free. According to two people familiar with the decision, the program, which was developed during Joe Biden’s presidency to make tax filing easy, fast, and economical, had faced opposition from Republican lawmakers and commercial tax preparation companies who argued it was a waste of taxpayer money since free filing programs already exist. The program’s future has been uncertain since the start of the Trump administration.
In February, Elon Musk posted on his social media site, X, that he had “deleted” 18F, the government agency that worked on technology projects like Direct File. In mid-March, IRS staff assigned to the program were told to stop working on its development for the 2026 tax filing season, according to sources. However, the Treasury Department has not made a final decision about the program’s future, as stated by an official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Critics of the decision, such as Adam Ruben, a vice president at the liberal-leaning Economic Security Project, said, “It is an outrage to see everyday taxpayers play no role in this decision.
Trump ends IRS Direct File program
Cutting costs and saving money for families were just empty campaign promises.”
On the other hand, David Williams, president of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, called the program “problematic” from the start, citing its costs and the fact that many people who began the process never finished.
The IRS reported that in 2024, 423,450 taxpayers logged into Direct File, but only 140,803 submitted accepted returns. Direct File was launched as a pilot program in 2024 after the IRS was tasked with creating a “direct file” system using funds from the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law by Biden in 2022. Despite the Democratic administration’s investment of tens of millions of dollars in developing the program, the IRS faced strong opposition from private tax preparation companies that profit from charging people to use their software.
On average, Americans spend about $140 preparing their tax returns each year. Intuit, a commercial tax preparation company, released a statement through its spokesman Derrick Plummer, saying, “Direct File is and has been a solution in search of a problem, a drain on critical IRS resources, and a waste of taxpayer dollars.”
Amanda Renteria, CEO of Code for America, which collaborated with the IRS to create a state tax filing integration program for Direct File, called the decision “a betrayal of public trust at precisely the time government should be demonstrating its ability to deliver basic services effectively.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., a supporter of expanding Direct File, said, “Trump and Musk are going after Direct File because it stops giant tax prep companies from ripping taxpayers off for services that should be free.
Americans want a free and easy way to file their taxes — Trump and Musk want to take that away.”
