When it involves their federal earnings tax returns, tens of tens of millions of US households pay for tax preparation and filing. Yet many would possibly qualify to take action for free by IRS-approved applications.
So why don’t they use them?
One cause may be the complexity of the tax code.
“Our own research suggests this complexity is a factor in driving families, including low-income families, to use tax preparation intermediaries,” Margot Crandall-Hollick, a principal analysis affiliate on the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, informed NCS in an e mail.
The Tax Policy Center, utilizing IRS knowledge, found that in fiscal 12 months 2024, about 85.4 million returns had been ready by paid tax practitioners, whereas one other 61.7 million had been ready by filers utilizing industrial software program (of which an estimated 26 million had been executed for free).
Filers who discover free choices might discover them tough to navigate. The services “differ in delivery method—from in-person assistance to guided online do-it-yourself tools—and in eligibility, scope, and availability of state return preparation,” the US Treasury famous in an October 2025 report.
In that very same report, Treasury introduced it was suspending Direct File — the latest entrant into the free-prep-and-file universe — due largely to this system’s value to the federal authorities. The program, which was nonetheless within the pilot part, aimed to ultimately present free guided tax preparation and filing straight by the IRS.
While Direct File is now defunct, a number of free IRS-approved choices stay obtainable this tax-filing season.
This is the longstanding public-private partnership between the IRS and its “trusted partners” within the personal tax-prep software program trade.
It’s obtainable to filers whose adjusted gross earnings for 2025 was $89,000 or much less and who’ve returns using the most commonly filed federal forms.
The IRS offers an interactive questionnaire that can assist you work out should you qualify for Free File—and in that case, which of its eight partners would possibly give you the services you want. Note: Some of the companions might file your state earnings tax return for free, too.
The Free File Fillable Forms (FFFF) program provides taxpayers the choice to fill out many (but not all) federal tax return varieties on the IRS website. There are not any earnings, age or residency limitations on who might accomplish that.
“These are identical to IRS paper forms, so this option is like the old ‘pencil and calculator’ method of filing,” notes the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS), an impartial group inside the IRS that represents taxpayer pursuits. “However, the fillable forms don’t come with any additional guidance. If you plan to use this option, you should be comfortable with the process of completing a tax return.”
For tax 12 months 2024, solely 400,000 returns out of roughly 161 million had been ready utilizing Free File Fillable Forms, in accordance with Treasury.
VITA and TCE applications
The Voluntary Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program primarily helps tax filers with incomes under $69,000, those that are disabled and those that usually are not proficient in English.
The Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program is commonly paired with VITA and is geared towards seniors. Unlike VITA, nevertheless, there are not any formal IRS earnings limitations.
“TCE sites offer free federal and state tax preparation assistance to taxpayers who are 60 and older and often specialize in tax issues unique to seniors, such as pension and retirement-related issues,” in accordance with TAS.
Treasury estimates that for tax 12 months 2024, roughly 67 million filers had been eligible for VITA, however just one.6 million returns had been filed by this system. And by TCE, just one.2 million returns had been filed out of an eligible 22 million.
VITA and TCE services are supplied by practically 3,100 companion organizations, such because the AARP Foundation, at websites throughout the nation, in accordance with the National Taxpayer Advocate.
Here is an IRS list of the forms of returns that VITA and TCE companion organizations usually will put together – however particular organizations might have a extra restricted checklist.
In addition to utilizing the IRS Free File program, members of the navy – in addition to qualifying veterans and relations – might get free tax prep and filing services for each federal and state returns from MilTax, which is supplied by the Department of Defense.
There are not any earnings restrictions, in accordance with the TAS.
The MilTax software program, it added, “was developed specifically to address the unique circumstances of military life that can affect taxes such as combat pay and dealing with multiple moves within the same tax year.”