tomder55
Nov 15, 2025, 06:31 AM
The geniuses at the IRS had a brilliant idea </sarc> . Let the unwashed rubes of America submit all their financial income data to us; and as a service; we will determine their tax liability and file for them. Clueless Joe initiated in last year .The program expanded to 24 this year.
IRS Direct File for free | Internal Revenue Service (https://www.irs.gov/filing/irs-direct-file-for-free)
What could go wrong?
For one thing; they never allocated funding for the program. They tapped into the misnamed 'Inflation Reduction Act' which had set aside $15 million to study the feasibility of the program. Their initial outlay was $114 million for 2024.
GAO 24-107326, IRS Direct File: Actions Needed during Pilot to Improve Information on Costs and Benefits (https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-24-107236.pdf)
$138 for each return (as opposed to under $100 with a simple Turbotax.
To do this the IRS was cutting out the middle man .No need for an audit when the IRS is the beginning and end of the process. That means the IRS won't need so many auditors. Right?
Auditing every single taxpayer with annual income over $1 million would require only 25,000 new IRS enforcement agents, but Democrats’ bill calls for 87,000 new agents. What will all those extra agents be doing?
Fact-Checking Team Biden on Who Those 87,000 New IRS Agents Would Audit | The Heritage Foundation (https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/commentary/fact-checking-team-biden-who-those-87000-new-irs-agents-would-audit)
Would the IRS automatically add obvious and not so obvious tax breaks in their calculations ? I think not. I'm not alone in saying that when I do my filing ;my goal is to not pay a single penny (now a nickel) more than the law requires. I just don't think having the IRS providing that service gets it done.
So it is good news that the IRS announced that Direct File is kaput.
IRS Direct File won't be available next year for submitting tax returns for free | AP News (https://apnews.com/article/irs-direct-file-not-available-2026-04f2d0c31bec80b55d122a0e76e08c36)
IRS Direct File for free | Internal Revenue Service (https://www.irs.gov/filing/irs-direct-file-for-free)
What could go wrong?
For one thing; they never allocated funding for the program. They tapped into the misnamed 'Inflation Reduction Act' which had set aside $15 million to study the feasibility of the program. Their initial outlay was $114 million for 2024.
GAO 24-107326, IRS Direct File: Actions Needed during Pilot to Improve Information on Costs and Benefits (https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-24-107236.pdf)
$138 for each return (as opposed to under $100 with a simple Turbotax.
To do this the IRS was cutting out the middle man .No need for an audit when the IRS is the beginning and end of the process. That means the IRS won't need so many auditors. Right?
Auditing every single taxpayer with annual income over $1 million would require only 25,000 new IRS enforcement agents, but Democrats’ bill calls for 87,000 new agents. What will all those extra agents be doing?
Fact-Checking Team Biden on Who Those 87,000 New IRS Agents Would Audit | The Heritage Foundation (https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/commentary/fact-checking-team-biden-who-those-87000-new-irs-agents-would-audit)
Would the IRS automatically add obvious and not so obvious tax breaks in their calculations ? I think not. I'm not alone in saying that when I do my filing ;my goal is to not pay a single penny (now a nickel) more than the law requires. I just don't think having the IRS providing that service gets it done.
So it is good news that the IRS announced that Direct File is kaput.
IRS Direct File won't be available next year for submitting tax returns for free | AP News (https://apnews.com/article/irs-direct-file-not-available-2026-04f2d0c31bec80b55d122a0e76e08c36)