Resources - Better IRS

The Direct File Pilot Explained

On October 17, the IRS announced further details of the 2024 pilot launch of Direct File, the first free, public federal tax e-filing tool in U.S. history. That Direct File will launch in early 2024, just eight short months after the project was first announced, is a triumph for modern digital government, and sets the standard of an agile and successful product.

How Families of Color Benefit from Free File

The IRS has the data needed to create a free and simplified tax filing tool, which would take the cost and headache out of tax filing for millions. By creating a system that dramatically increases access to free tax filing, the IRS has the power to ensure more households of color get the refunds and credits they deserve.

How Defunding The IRS Pads Wealthy Tax Cheats’ Pockets

House conservatives have spent the better part of this year attacking IRS funding that ensures wealthy Americans pay what they owe. If Congress gives in to wealthy tax cheats and their conservative friends by going back on the promise of the Inflation Reduction Act to finally narrow the tax gap, we could allow tax cheats to keep nearly $1.1 trillion in their pockets.

2024 Direct File State Tax Support, Explained

In 2024, for the first time, eligible taxpayers in 13 states will be able to file their federal tax returns directly with the IRS, for free. If they have state filing obligations, these Direct File taxpayers will be able to seamlessly file their state returns, too, through state-sponsored partner software. This document summarizes the known details of the state filing implementations.

Dispelling American Coalition for Taxpayer Rights’ Myths About IRS Direct File

On September 12, 2023, The American Coalition for Taxpayer Rights, sent a letter to Senator Warren and Representative Porter about statements made in support of the IRS Direct File pilot. Much of the letter’s “facts” are based on speculation about how the tool will function and a severe misunderstanding of the nature of iterative pilot programs. The following document dispels several myths proposed in the letter with what is currently known about the Direct File Pilot.

65,546 Americans Petition IRS in Favor of Free File

Americans should not have to pay profit-hungry companies in order to use a program to file taxes online. Thank you for developing a free alternative. I encourage you to make this software broadly available as soon as possible so that everyone will have a public option for electronic tax filing.

Dispelling Myths About Free File

The IRS has announced a path forward for developing a true free file system. The announcement is both popular and long overdue. Despite this, a number of myths persist around IRS free file and what it could mean for tax filers.

Why the Tax Filing System is Broken

Americans spend 1.7 billion hours and $31 billion annually to file their taxes, even though the overwhelming majority should be able to file in mere minutes and for free. Millions more find it too hard or expensive to file taxes at all, including over five million households who qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) but do not receive it.

IRS – One Year Since the IRA

After years of chronic underfunding, the IRA allocated critical new resources to the IRS in order to improve customer service, simplify tax filing easier, and make sure wealthy tax cheats pay their legal share.

203 Groups Support Free File

Dear Commissioner Werfel, We write to thank you for the hard work of the IRS in developing the report to Congress on an IRS-run direct tax filing system and commend…