What happens now that the IRS has officially suspended Direct File episode artwork

EPISODE · Dec 19, 2025 · 8 MIN

What happens now that the IRS has officially suspended Direct File

from The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

The Treasury Department is officially suspending Direct File, a free online tax filing platform the IRS launched last year. The department said it’s exploring alternatives. That includes strengthening its partnership with tax preparation companies through its Free File program. Direct File expanded to 25 states during this year’s filing season and saw higher favorability scores. But Treasury said the program cost too much and didn’t see enough usage to keep scaling it up. For more on what happens next, Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman spoke with the CEO of Code for America, Amanda Renteria.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Treasury Department is officially suspending Direct File, a free online tax filing platform the IRS launched last year. The department said it’s exploring alternatives. That includes strengthening its partnership with tax preparation companies through its Free File program. Direct File expanded to 25 states during this year’s filing season and saw higher favorability scores. But Treasury said the program cost too much and didn’t see enough usage to keep scaling it up. For more on what happens next, Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman spoke with the CEO of Code for America, Amanda Renteria. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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What happens now that the IRS has officially suspended Direct File

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This episode was published on December 19, 2025.

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The Treasury Department is officially suspending Direct File, a free online tax filing platform the IRS launched last year. The department said it’s exploring alternatives. That includes strengthening its partnership with tax preparation companies...

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