Washington (AP) – The Trump administration is planning to eliminate the direct file program of the IRS, an electronic system for the free submission of tax returns, according to two people who are familiar with the decision.
The program developed during the presidency of Joe Biden was credited by users with making tax returns easy, quickly and economically. But the Republican legislators and companies for the commercial tax preparation companies complained that it was a waste of tax money because there are already free archiving programs, although they are difficult to use.
The program has been in the dark since the start of the Trump government, because Elon Musk and the Ministry of Government Efficiency make their way through the federal government. In February, Musk posted on his social media site, X, that he had “removed” 18F, a government agency that worked on technological projects such as Direct File.
There was some hope that Musk, with his Doge team of smart computer programmers, could take over the direct file and improve it. But the two people who are familiar with the decision to terminate the direct file, said the future became clear when the IRS staff assigned to the program was told in mid-March to stop working on the development of the tax return of 2026.
The two people were not authorized to publicly discuss the plans and spoke with the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Adam Ruben, vice-president at the liberally leaning economic security project, said: “The solution was from the start.”
“It is a indignation not to see daily taxpayers play a role in this decision,” he said. “Lowering costs and saving money for families were just empty campaign injuries.”
But David Williams, president of the taxpayer protection alliance, who describes itself as a non -party organization that spreads research and analysis of the effects of the government on the economy, said that the direct file was “problematic” from day 1, with reference to the costs of the program and that many people who started the process were never completed. According to the IRS 423,450 Taxpayers, the Direct File and 140.803 submitted accepted declarations in 2024 have been submitted.
“From hidden costs to confusion from the taxpayer, the program is full of problems,” said Williams.
Direct File was rolled out as a pilot program in 2024 after the IRS was instructed to see how a “direct file” system could be made as part of the money that received the Inflation Reduction Act signed by Biden in 2022. The Democratic Government spent tens of millions of dollars developing the program.
Last May the agency announced that the program would be made permanently.
But the IRS has confronted with intense return to the direct file of private tax preparation companies that have made billions of charging people to use their software and have spent millions of lobbying at the congress. The average American usually spends around $ 140 preparing returns every year.
The IRS accepted 140,803 declarations Received by taxpayers using direct file in the 12 states where the past tax season was available. It was expanded with half the country this year. It is unclear how many taxpayers have used directly file this year.
Amanda Renteria, CEO of Code For America, who collaborated with the IRS to make an integration program for a tax return for a direct file, said that the decision was “a betrayal of public trust at exactly the moment that the government should prove its assets to provide basic services effectively.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., An advocate of building direct file, said in an e-mail statement that Trump and Musk 'go behind a direct file because it prevents gigantic tax preparation companies from curing taxpayers for services that must be free. Americans want a free and easy way to submit their taxes and Musk want to remove that. '
