WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced Tuesday the launch of its Direct File program, a new tax filing process that will not cost any money for individuals.
Washington will be one of 13 states included in the Direct File program during the 2024 tax season.
Direct File is a new service that will give taxpayers the choice to electronically file their federal tax returns with the IRS for free. Nine of the 13 participating states do not have state income taxes, but only federal returns will be eligible for Direct File in other involved states.
The IRS said only certain taxpayers will be eligible in participating states. The agency said the program will apply to "taxpayers with relatively simple returns."
Direct File will be mobile-friendly and interview-based, according to the IRS. It will be available in English and Spanish for the pilot. Participants will have access to help from IRS employees on the customer support team for Direct File, who can answer specific questions on the pilot or direct customers to other types of tax support.
Direct File is not to be mistaken with the agency's existing Free File program, which offers commercial software for free to low and middle-income earners and fillable forms to all. However, the forms are complicated and taxpayers still have to calculate their tax liability.
The small-scale rollout of the Direct File pilot is part of the agency’s effort to build out a new government service that could replace some taxpayers’ use of commercial tax preparation software such as TurboTax. It's meant to be simple and provides a step-by-step walkthrough of easy-to-answer questions.
IRS officials said low and middle-income earners who typically claim a standard deduction are the target users. The agency estimates that several hundred thousand taxpayers are eligible for the initial rollout in the 2024 tax season.
Certain taxpayers in Florida, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming are eligible to participate. None of those states have a state income tax.
People can check the IRS website to determine whether they qualify. People can sign up to be notified when the program is live for them.
Washington is choosing to join the IRS' integration of Direct File for the state's application of the Working Families Tax Credit in 2024.
"This is a critical step forward for this innovative effort that will test the feasibility of providing taxpayers a new option to file their returns for free directly with the IRS," said Danny Werfel, IRS commissioner. "In this limited pilot for 2024, we'll be working closely with the states that have agreed to participate in an important test run of the state integration. This will help us gather important information about the future direction of the Direct File program."