The IRS’s new Direct File website, a free site for filing a tax return, will open to the public in the coming days, but lucky taxpayers who hope to be among the first to use it will need to check in during limited and unannounced windows at the outset. After a few weeks of testing, the website will be available all day, every day, for any taxpayer in the participating states who wants to use it to file their taxes for free. The new site aims to provide a free government-provided option for filing taxes online, rather than paying for commercial tax software or hiring a tax preparer and it has already garnered plenty of supporters and detractors before it’s even open.
An important note is that Direct File will only work in 12 states for this tax season and won’t cover all tax situations. For example, if you are self-employed, if you have wages above $200,000, or if you want to itemize deductions, then you won’t be able to use it. The website will be open for “short, unannounced windows of time” initially so the IRS can test how it works, and if you’re lucky enough to check the site during one of these windows and get in, you will be able to keep working on your tax return even when the site is not open or during the testing phase.
If a taxpayer is not able to access the site during these initial windows, or if they are not in the participating states, they can always wait a few weeks until the site becomes available for use at all times. Overall, this new option could have a big impact on the future of tax filing.