November 6, 2025
The Direct File program was one of the targets of the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency, under the leadership of billionaire Elon Musk, as soon as the group took over the White House.
The Trump administration has confirmed that the electronic tax filing system, known as IRS Direct File, won’t be offered in 2026, Associated Press reports.
Internal Revenue Service official Cynthia Noe sent a note to state comptrollers that participate in the Direct File program announcing that “IRS Direct File will not be available in Filing Season 2026. No launch date has been set for the future.” During a Nov. 5 press conference, Treasury Secretary and current IRS commissioner Scott Bessent said there are “better alternatives” to Direct File and claimed it wasn’t used very much.” “And we think that the private sector can do a better job,” he continued.
Users say the opposite. Users credited the former President Joe Biden-era program for making tax filing efficient, easy, fast, and, most importantly, economical. As a pilot program, Direct File was rolled out in 2024 following the agency’s tasking with exploring ways to create a “direct file” system using funds from the Inflation Reduction Act that Biden signed into law in 2022. The Democratic-led administration spent millions of dollars developing the program, and it was made permanent in May 2024.
But the successful program faced criticism from Republican lawmakers, who claimed it was a waste of taxpayer dollars because free filing programs already exist from commercial tax preparation companies. In addition to being difficult to use, the companies also cashed in on these programs, making billions by charging people for usage.
The Direct File program was one of the targets of the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency, under the leadership of billionaire Elon Musk, as soon as the group took over the White House in January. Keeping their April 2025 promise of eliminating the program, the Direct File website states that “Direct File is closed. More information will be available at a later date.”
According to Forbes, Bessent once committed to keeping the program available for the 2025 tax season, but things changed once the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) was signed in May 2025. The Act’s final version includes a provision that will create a task force to report on the “cost of enhancing and establishing public-private partnerships which provide for free tax filing for up to 70 percent of all taxpayers calculated by adjusted gross income, and to replace any direct e-file programs run by the Internal Revenue Service.”
In addition, the team will scope out the public opinions on “a taxpayer-funded, government-run service or a free service provided by the private sector.” The task force’s creation has a hefty price tag of $15,000,000, just as the Inflation Reduction Act did for the Direct File.
Industry experts don’t seem surprised by Trump’s team’s moves. Adam Ruben, vice president at the Economic Security Project, said this administration is all about the rich.
“Trump’s billionaire friends get favors while honest, hardworking Americans will pay more to file their taxes,” he said.
RELATED CONTENT: Is It a Referral Or Retribution? Fed Governor Lisa Cook Targeted By Trump Appointee
