The number of people using Free File guided tax software created by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has increased by 9.7% this filing season, which ended Feb. 24, compared to the same date in 2023, according to the federal agency. increased.
For the filing year that ended Feb. 24, 943,000 taxpayers filed their tax returns through IRS Free File, up from 860,000 who filed during the same period in fiscal year 2022-23. .
The IRS Free File software, now in its 22nd season, is available to all taxpayers who recorded adjusted gross income (AGI) of $79,000 or less during 2023. Taxpayers with income over $79,000 can use their IRS’s Free File fillable forms, but the agency says: This is “perfect for those who are accustomed to using IRS form instructions and publications when preparing their own taxes.”
The IRS has issued 28.9 million refunds to taxpayers between the 2024 filing season and February 24, totaling $92.9 billion, according to the latest information released by the IRS on March 1. That’s what it means. The average refund amount was $3,213, an increase of 4.3% from the previous year.
IRS Free File is a public-private partnership in which “tax preparation and filing software providers offer their online products to eligible taxpayers.” According to the agency, eight “private sector Free File Partners” are offering online tax guidance software this year. This can be accessed by visiting IRS.gov/freefile.
The eight partners participating in the Free File scheme this year are 1040Now, Drake (1040.com), ezTaxReturn.com, FileYourTaxes.com, On-Line Taxes, TaxAct, TaxHawk (FreeTaxUSA), and TaxSlayer. IRS-approved free file packages are also available in Spanish at ezTaxReturn.com.
The IRS is launching a pilot program called Direct File that provides a system for American workers to pay their taxes for free. Treasury spokeswoman Ashley Capitole said in an interview with news website Vox that 19 million taxpayers nationwide will be eligible for the new system in the 2024 tax season, and that the government expects “at least a few He said he expected 100,000 people to attend.
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On February 27, the IRS began mailing out tax refund forms for the 2024 tax year, with thousands of Americans thought to be eligible for additional stimulus checks. Those who qualify for the IRS Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which is given to individuals and families at low- to moderate-income levels, can claim up to $7,430 in substantial tax relief.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a progressive think tank, estimates that the EITC lifted about 5.6 million people above the poverty line in 2018 alone.
In a press release issued on February 29, the IRS announced that it will begin a major crackdown on high-income earners who have not filed tax returns in the past few years.
The agency plans to issue violation notices to people with annual incomes of $400,000 or more who failed to file federal income tax returns between 2017 and 2021, with 125,000 suspected cases identified. There is.
The IRS said in a press release that it does not know exactly how much the federal government is owed at this point, but estimates it owes “hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid taxes.”
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