IRS to explore free electronic tax filing system


The Internal Revenue Service will be taking a step toward making electronic tax filing more straightforward and accessible by studying a free option for taxpayers, reports The Washington Post.
The government tax agency will use $15 million from the $80 billion allotted in the Inflation Reduction Act to explore a free tax filing system. This platform could provide American taxpayers with another option to file taxes beyond relying on expensive private tax preparation companies. While the IRS does provide free e-filing options, the service is barely used due to its restrictions on qualifying returns.
Tax preparation services have been dominated by corporations for years, forcing Americans to spend money to file obligatory taxes yearly. Democrats sought to address that issue with the passing of this bill that requires the IRS to study an in-house free option for e-filing, the Post reports. Current and former IRS officials point to a lack of funding to explain why the government agency hasn't put a real effort into developing its e-filing system, writes the Post. This means taxpayers have relied on companies such as Intuit's TurboTax and H&R Block, often incurring multiple fees.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Experts believe creating a government system will give Americans reliable free options while increasing the efficiency of the IRS.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Theara Coleman has worked as a staff writer at The Week since September 2022. She frequently writes about technology, education, literature and general news. She was previously a contributing writer and assistant editor at Honeysuckle Magazine, where she covered racial politics and cannabis industry news.
-
Glastonbury and the BBC: time for a change?
Talking Point Furore over Bob Vylan broadcast could 'mark the end' for streaming festival live
-
Hotels with kitchen gardens for a foodie weekend away
The Week Recommends Feast on seasonal produce straight from the veg patch at these country retreats
-
Succession planning as the Dalai Lama turns 90
In the Spotlight China 'determined to shape the narrative' around choice of Tibet's next spiritual leader
-
Zohran Mamdani: the young progressive likely to be New York City's next mayor
In The Spotlight The policies and experience that led to his meteoric rise
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Some mainstream Democrats struggle with Zohran Mamdani's surprise win
TALKING POINT To embrace or not embrace? A party in transition grapples with a rising star ready to buck political norms and energize a new generation.
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump