Data shows the IRS’ Direct File free tax-filing tool has helped save taxpayers money. Now lawmakers want to know why the Trump administration may soon pull the plug on the program.
The Trump administration is planning on ending Direct File, the Associated Press reported earlier this month, citing people familiar with the plan. The program, launched during Joe Biden’s presidency, has been credited by some users with making it easier and cheaper to file their taxes, saving the average user $160 in tax preparation fees and hours of their time, according to the Economic Security Project, an advocacy group focused on enhancing financial fairness and security for Americans.
But the IRS has also faced blowback to Direct File from private tax prep companies that have made billions from charging people to use their software.
“Direct File is and has been a solution in search of a problem, a drain on critical IRS resources and a waste of taxpayer dollars,” Derrick Plummer, a spokesman for the commercial tax preparation company Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, told the AP.
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