Overview
- President Trump's 2025 Big, Beautiful Bill directed replacing IRS-run direct e-file programs, prompting Direct File’s shutdown for the 2026 filing season.
- Launched in 2024 under President Biden, the platform served nearly 300,000 users last year across 25 participating states despite an estimated 30 million who were eligible.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, serving as acting IRS commissioner, has argued the private sector can do a better job than Direct File.
- Free options that remain include IRS Free File for filers with adjusted gross income of $84,000 or less and Free File Fillable Forms for all incomes without state returns or software guidance.
- The IRS cites a forthcoming Treasury report to Congress detailing the Direct File experience and potential public–private alternatives required by the new law.