{"id":48503,"date":"2026-03-03T13:28:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T18:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newamerica.org\/?post_type=impact&#038;p=48503"},"modified":"2026-03-03T13:28:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T18:28:13","slug":"making-tax-filing-simple-and-free-with-direct-file","status":"publish","type":"impact","link":"https:\/\/www.newamerica.org\/impact\/making-tax-filing-simple-and-free-with-direct-file\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Tax Filing Simple and Free with Direct File"},"template":"","issue_tax":[],"topic_tax":[],"program_tax":[],"project_tax":[],"location":[],"class_list":["post-48503","impact","type-impact","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"details":{"abstract":"","featured_image":48513,"override_caption":false,"caption":""},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"add_background_color":true,"content":"<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every year, millions of Americans spend time and money just to file their taxes, often paying private companies to help them complete forms the government already provides. For low- and middle-income families, these costs can mean missed refunds, unclaimed credits, and unnecessary stress.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To change that, New America\u2019s New Practice Lab partnered with the federal government to study whether it was feasible for the Internal Revenue Service to offer a free, easy-to-use filing system.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Working closely with taxpayers, researchers, and public officials, the team conducted extensive interviews, analyzed data, and reviewed best practices. Their findings <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newamerica.org\/new-practice-lab\/policy-papers\/direct-file-taxpayers-report\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">helped shape a federal feasibility study<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and showed that a government-run filing system could be safe, effective, and user-centered.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2024, a pilot program allowed eligible taxpayers in 12 states to file directly with the IRS at no cost. While implementation has been complicated by leadership shifts in federal agencies, millions of Americans are now on track to benefit as the program expands nationwide\u2014saving money, reducing complexity, and making tax season fairer.<\/span>","":null,"drop_cap":false,"anchor_id":""}}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.1 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Making Tax Filing Simple and Free with Direct File - New America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newamerica.org\/impact\/making-tax-filing-simple-and-free-with-direct-file\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Making Tax Filing Simple and Free with Direct File\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.newamerica.org\/impact\/making-tax-filing-simple-and-free-with-direct-file\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"New America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NewAmerica\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.newamerica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/shutterstock_2649266691.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@NewAmerica\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.newamerica.org\/impact\/making-tax-filing-simple-and-free-with-direct-file\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.newamerica.org\/impact\/making-tax-filing-simple-and-free-with-direct-file\/\",\"name\":\"Making Tax Filing Simple and Free with Direct File - 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