IRS Direct File: How It Works, Who Qualifies
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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is making its free Direct File software a permanent tax filing option and expanding availability to 24 states beginning in the 2025 tax season.
Last tax season, the pilot program allowed roughly 140,000 taxpayers in 12 states to save an estimated $5.6 million in filing costs, according to the Department of the Treasury.
With Direct File expanding to more states and supporting a wider variety of tax returns in 2025, the IRS says more than 30 million taxpayers will be eligible to use the program when it opens this coming January.
What is IRS Direct File?
IRS Direct File is a free tax-prep program that allows eligible users across 24 states to file their federal income tax returns directly through the IRS in 2025.
Similar to tax software like TurboTax or H&R Block, the Direct File service uses interview-style questions to help taxpayers complete and submit their tax returns. The service is available in English and Spanish, and filers can work on their returns on most devices.
The agency also has a staff of customer service agents to help filers with basic tax questions as needed. Last filing season, customer service was available from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday. Questions that fell outside of the scope of the program were directed to other IRS customer support representatives.
» Need to back up? Learn how to file taxes
Where is Direct File available?
Taxpayers in the following 24 states are eligible to use the program in 2025: Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington state, Wisconsin and Wyoming.nd Wyoming.
Nine of these states — Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennesse, Texas, Washington and Wyoming — don’t have a state income tax. (New Hampshire does tax dividends and interest, and some high earners in Washington may face a capital gains tax on sizable profits.)
For the states that do have a state income tax, the IRS partners with the state to route tax filers to a state-supported filing tool once their federal return has been filed.
What are the income limits for IRS Direct File?
The income limits for the 2025 filing season will be available when the program’s eligibility tool reopens.
Single filers who made $200,000 or less were eligible in 2024. The threshold dropped to $160,200 or less for people with more than one employer.
Married couples filing separately were eligible if they made $125,000 or less. If married filing jointly, a couple's combined wages could not exceed $250,000. There were also additional income restrictions if one spouse made over $200,000 or over $160,200 if they had more than one employer.
Direct File eligibility
In its first year, the pilot program was designed to support simple tax situations. The IRS has since broadened the tax situations Direct File supports, but it still may not be a good fit for people with more complex returns, such as business owners and freelancers.
According to the IRS, the Direct File program will support the following in 2025:
Income
Social Security and railroad retirement.
Unemployment benefit income.
Interest income.
Retirement income.
Alaska Permanent Fund dividends.
Credits
Credit for other dependents.
Child and dependent care credit.
Premium tax credit.
Credit for those who are elderly or disabled.
Retirement savings contribution credits.
Deductions
Student loan interest deduction.
Educator expenses.
Health savings accounts.
» MORE: Common tax deductions and breaks
How much does Direct File cost?
The IRS Direct File service is free. After completing their federal returns, those who need to file a state return are directed to their respective state’s filing service.
What’s the difference between IRS Free File and IRS Direct File?
The IRS Free File program is a partnership between the IRS and several commercial tax software providers, such as TaxSlayer and TaxAct, that offers free filing services to taxpayers who make below a certain income. The income limit for the 2024 tax filing season was $79,000. Free File providers may add additional restrictions to services offered, such as whether state returns or certain federal credits are supported.
Direct File, on the other hand, is a free, IRS-run tax filing service that was first piloted in 2024 and is now set to expand in 2025. The income thresholds to qualify for Direct File are different than those of the Free File program, and Direct File is more generally limited in what tax situations it can handle. In 2024, Direct File was supported in 12 states, but the agency will double that number in 2025 and said that additional states are still able to join.
» Dive deeper: Don't qualify for IRS Free File? More options for free tax filing
