There was confusion after social media posts suggested the program was terminated.
The White House this week said that the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) free Direct File tool is still online amid speculation that it was taken down.
Earlier this week, Elon Musk wrote on social media platform X that the 18F government agency that worked on projects such as Direct File was “deleted,” sparking concern that the program was scrapped. The IRS announced last year that it would make the free electronic tax return filing system permanent and asked all 50 states and the District of Columbia to help taxpayers file their returns through the program in 2025.
On Monday, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.)
wrote that “until today you could file your taxes FOR FREE” and that President Donald Trump’s administration “just took that from you.” He was responding to a separate post that included a screenshot of the Direct File page and Musk’s message about 18F that said the “group has been deleted.”
That prompted several messages from White House press officials, who disputed the claim that the Direct File service was removed.
“Did you even bother to check the website? It’s still up, and IRS Direct File is still accepting tax returns. Lie easily debunked,” the White House Rapid Response account said. White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung also
said that claim is a “complete lie” and that people can still use the Direct File system.
As of Wednesday, 18F’s Government Services Agency
website and LinkedIn page were still operational, as was the Direct File
website. But 18F’s X account was deleted.
A day after Swalwell’s comment, the IRS X account
wrote that it is offering “free online and in-person tax preparation options for eligible taxpayers through Free File, Direct File and volunteer tax assistance programs.”
Last May, the IRS announced it would make the Direct File program permanent. It is now available in 25 states, up from 12 states that were part of last year’s pilot program.
Those states include Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming,
according to the agency.
The program allows people in some states with very simple W-2s to calculate and submit their returns directly to the IRS. Those using the pilot program in 2024 claimed more than $90 million in refunds, the IRS said in October.
During his confirmation hearing Jan. 16, Scott Bessent, now treasury secretary, committed to maintaining the Direct File program at least for the 2025 tax season, which began Jan. 27.
According to a news release from the General Services Administration
issued in March 2024, 18F had completed 455 projects for 34 agencies, the executive office of the president, the House of Representatives, and the Library of Congress. The organization also
says that its staff does not “receive appropriated funds from Congress and must charge partner agencies for our work.”
The IRS said it generally sends back most refunds in fewer than 21 calendar days. Taxpayers can use the IRS “Where’s My Refund?”
tool to check the status of their filing within 24 hours of filing electronically.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
