Free Tax Filing Program In Washington Faces Uncertain Future

Have you filed your federal tax return for 2024? Most of us have. Washington State is part of a program called “Direct File” that allows you to file your simple tax return for free. But the word is that it might be going away. 

According to msn.com,
‘Options for filing tax returns are likely to change in 2026 for taxpayers in 25 states.
IRS Commissioner Billy Long, whom President Donald Trump appointed to head the federal tax agency last month, appeared to confirm that Direct File—which offers free tax filing directly with the IRS—won't be an option for the next filing season.’ 

Now, as of today, the IRS has not announced that they're shutting down the program, but it’s probably going to happen. 

The Treasury Department is now required to create and send in a report to Congress within the next 90 days that would detail how much it would cost to implement the program nationwide, find out how taxpayers feel about the possibility of filing their taxes for free to the US government rather than running them through a third party, whether it's even possible to put a system like this in place, and then determine the cost of creating and managing such a system. 

Currently Direct File is still operational, and it will remain so until October 15th of 2025 for anyone who has not yet filed their 2024 tax return. 

The word is that Direct File probably will not be functional for next year, and if the current Direct File system is still functional next year, it will not be expanded to any additional states.
Map shows states where IRS tax returns could change for 2026
IRS Tax Returns to Become More Expensive For Millions of Americans: Report - Newsweek