The Internal Revenue Service is moving ahead with a plan to build its own free tax filing program, known as Direct File, announcing Tuesday that a pilot version will be available to some taxpayers in 13 states next year.
Armed with an influx of new money approved by Democrats last year, the IRS is conducting a major overhaul of its operations – despite continued threats from Republicans to cut future funding and even abolish the agency altogether.
Eventually, the IRS tax filing system could serve as an alternative to private tax preparation companies like H&R Block and Intuit’s TurboTax.
Technically, you don’t have to. You can always file for free by filling out and mailing in the paper forms. It’s just a major PITA and the money you save is rarely worth the amount of time and effort it takes.
Incorrect, if you make less than 73k a year (single) you can use many professional tax preparation software for free. https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free I make more and was still able to do it for free using FreeTaxUSA for my federal income taxes. some states offer free state taxes (a bit more tedious than doing it on one system since you have to reenter information)
I do it because it’s fucking ridiculous and I refuse to spend a penny on tax prep services.