Massachusetts will take part in free IRS tax filing pilot program in 2024
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Massachusetts taxpayers have been invited to take part in an Internal Revenue Service pilot program that will allow for the free direct filing of both state and federal taxes beginning in January.
This IRS announcement comes as private tax preparation companies face intense blowback for raking in billions of dollars from charging people to use their software.
“This is a critical step forward for this innovative effort that will test the feasibility of providing taxpayers a new option to file their returns for free directly with the IRS,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a statement.
The offering of this government-run option could upend the industry and fundamentally change the way taxpayers interact with the IRS if it proves to be successful.
“We’ll be working closely with the states that have agreed to participate in an important test run of the state integration,” Werfel added. “This will help us gather important information about the future direction of the Direct File program.”
Hundreds of thousands of taxpayers in 13 states, including the Bay State, will participate in the limited rollout of the program for the 2024 filing season, the IRS estimates.
The IRS noted that “not all states were in a position to join the pilot at this time.”
Direct File will be limited to taxpayers with relatively simple returns such as wages on a Form W-2, and important tax credits, like the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit, according to the IRS.
The pilot program will be a mobile-friendly, interview-based service that will work as well on a mobile phone as it does on a laptop, tablet, or desktop computer. The service will be available in English and Spanish for the pilot.
As directed by Congress in the Inflation Reduction Act, the IRS spent several months studying the feasibility free, direct tax return system.
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