140,000 people did their taxes with the free IRS direct file pilot. But program's future is unclear
By FATIMA HUSSEIN
Posted 4/26/24
WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS said Friday that more than 140,000 taxpayers filed their taxes through its new direct file pilot program and participants saved roughly $5.6 million in fees they would …
You must be a member to read this story.
Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.
Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here
Otherwise, follow the link below to join.
To Our Valued Readers –
Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.
For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.
Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.
Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.
Need to set up your free e-Newspaper all-access account? click here.
Non-subscribers
Click here to see your options for becoming a subscriber.
Register to comment
Click here create a free account for posting comments.
Note that free accounts do not include access to premium content on this site.
I am anchor
140,000 people did their taxes with the free IRS direct file pilot. But program's future is unclear
FILE - The Internal Revenue Service 1040 tax form for 2022 is seen on April 17, 2023. The IRS said Friday, April 26, 2024, more than 140,000 taxpayers filed their taxes through its new direct file pilot program. It says the program's users claimed more than $90 million in refunds, saving roughly $5.6 million in fees they would have spent with commercial tax preparation companies. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick, File)
Posted
By FATIMA HUSSEIN
WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS said Friday that more than 140,000 taxpayers filed their taxes through its new direct file pilot program and participants saved roughly $5.6 million in fees they would have otherwise spent with commercial tax preparation companies.
The government pilot program, rolled out this tax season in 12 states, allows people with very simple W-2s to calculate and submit their returns directly to the IRS for free. Those using the program claimed more than $90 million in refunds, the IRS said.
But despite what IRS and Treasury Department officials said was a successful rollout, they aren't saying yet whether the program will be available next year for more taxpayers. They say they need to evaluate the data on whether building out the program is feasible.
“We will take time to analyze the data and collect feedback from a wide variety of stakeholders before making a decision about direct file's future,” IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel said on a call with reporters.
The program, which became available to the public on March 8, cost roughly $10.5 million for technology and product development and another $2.4 million for customer service, cloud computing and user authentication.
While the Treasury set a goal of reaching 100,000 users for the pilot, 140,803 completed their taxes using the program. More than 3 million people used the IRS' eligibility tracker to see if they could use the program, and 423,450 people logged into the program.
“Regardless of where it goes from here, I am proud of the success of the direct file pilot," Werfel said.
The tax season began on Jan. 29, and the filing deadline for most people was April 15.
The program was available to certain taxpayers in Florida, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Four other states that have a state income tax also were part of the pilot program — Arizona, Massachusetts, California and New York. In those four, state tax agencies helped people directly file their state taxes as well.
According to the latest IRS data, this tax season the agency has received 119.5 million returns, compared with 117.3 million received in the same timeframe last year. Refunds this tax season add up to $220 billion, compared with $215 billion last year.