The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced this week that its Direct File tool will be available in 12 additional states for the 2025 tax season, making the free e-filing service available in a total of 24 states.
The IRS successfully piloted its Direct File tool during the 2024 tax season, allowing more than 140,000 taxpayers across 12 states to file their tax returns directly with the agency electronically. The program was made permanent on May 30.
During the pilot last year, Direct File was available in Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington State, and Wyoming. For the 2025 tax filing season, Direct File will also be available in Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
In 2025, more than 30 million taxpayers in those 24 states will be eligible to use Direct File. Additional states could still join Direct File in 2025, and according to the IRS, several states have expressed interest or announced that they will participate in Direct File in 2026.
“We’re excited about the improvements to Direct File and the millions more taxpayers who will be eligible to use the service this year,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. “Above all, our goal is to improve the experience of tax filing itself and help taxpayers meet their obligations quickly and easily. Direct File will be a critical part of achieving that goal as we expand and improve the service.”
In addition to doubling the number of states where Direct File will be available, the service will also cover a wider range of tax situations for the 2025 filing season, including Form 1099 for interest income greater than $1,500 and retirement income.
The IRS announced that this year, Direct File will also cover taxpayers claiming the Child and Dependent Care Credit, Premium Tax Credit, Credit for the Elderly and Disabled, and Retirement Savings Contribution Credits. Direct File will also support taxpayers claiming deductions for Health Savings Accounts as a new addition this year.
“Over the coming years, the IRS will gradually expand Direct File’s scope to support most common tax situations, focusing – in particular – on tax situations that impact working families,” the IRS said.
Direct File is a web-based service that works on mobile phones, laptops, tablets, or desktop computers. It guides taxpayers through a series of questions to prepare their Federal tax return step-by-step. Once taxpayers have completed their Federal tax return, the Direct File system automatically guides them to state tools to complete their state tax filings.
For the 2025 filing season, Direct File will include new features to make filing taxes quicker and easier. Direct File users can try a new chat bot to help guide them through the eligibility checker. Last year, thousands of Direct File users got help from IRS customer service representatives through a live chat feature in English and Spanish, and this year users can opt into additional authentication and verification, which will allow customer service representatives to provide more information.
“User experience, both within the Direct File tool and the integration with state tax systems, will continue to be the foundation for Direct File moving forward,” Werfel said. “We will focus – first and foremost – on continuing to get it right. Accuracy and comprehensive tax credit uptake will be paramount concerns to ensure taxpayers file a correct return and get the refund to which they’re entitled.”
