A tax form (Photo – Marco Verch Professional Photographer)
With the April 15 tax filing deadline days away and millions of Americans yet to submit their filings, and with the launch of the IRS Direct File pilot program this year, taxpayers in California and 11 other states have the option to file their federal taxes directly, easily, and securely with the IRS for free.
By News Desk
Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28), a Member of the tax-writing House Ways Means Committee, issued the following statement encouraging the use of the IRS’ Direct File pilot program:
“With tax filing season closing on April 15 for most, I urge Californians to set aside time this weekend to file their taxes on time. For many Americans, filing taxes is their only direct interaction each year with the federal government. After decades of purposeful underinvestment in the IRS by Republicans, filing taxes has been more frustrating and time-consuming than necessary—whether because taxpayers used expensive e-filing software from private companies or because they waited on hold for an hour to reach the IRS. However, this underinvestment was reversed by President Biden and Democrats in Congress through the landmark Inflation Reduction Act. In addition to providing resources that have dramatically decreased IRS call wait times, the legislation made the IRS Direct File program possible… I encourage all eligible Californians who’ve not yet completed filing their taxes to take advantage this weekend of the Direct File program.”
The easy-to-use Direct File tool gives one-third of taxpayers—those with simple taxes and W-2 income—a new option to avoid expensive tax filing software and file their taxes for free, directly with the IRS. With 5.2 million California taxpayers likely eligible for Direct File, California currently leads the nation in users of Direct File.
According to a recent Economic Security Project report, the Direct File program over five years would save the average user $160 in filing fees and hours of their time each year, which saves Americans a total of $11 billion annually between filing fees and time costs. By making it easier for taxpayers to file, Direct File would also deliver up to $12 billion each year in additional tax credits to low-income families currently missing out, including the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC).
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