Most people are not eligible to file taxes with Direct File. I thought I could do it, but they refused and I used TurboTax instead.
Direct File wasn’t perfect. Still, I liked using the IRS website. And I definitely prefer the IRS website over the frustrating TurboTax that keeps asking for more money and my personal data.
You may feel differently about it. I’ll explain my experience with Direct File and why it’s important even if you don’t use this site.
We have the right to effective online government services. Direct File is visible proof that government she-websites don’t have to stink.
How to file taxes using IRS Direct File (if available)
The first thing to know about Direct File is that it is a trial project. And you probably can’t use it.
You can only file your tax return on the new IRS site if you live in one of 12 states, including Texas, New York, and California. Work for an employer rather than yourself. Meets many other eligibility requirements. (read more here. )
I almost quit after just getting through the seven online screens of Direct File’s eligibility checklist and completing the online identity verification.
But once I started filing my taxes, Direct File felt a lot like TurboTax, which I’ve used for years.
Direct File answers yes or no questions about your income and potential tax breaks.you can You can also chat online and ask for help.
Because Direct File is only available to people filing simple tax returns, it asks far fewer questions than TurboTax.
There were some things I didn’t like. TurboTax had a digital copy of your W-2 tax form and allowed you to pull in digital records from your investment accounts, but you still had to enter details like income and interest payments directly into the file.
This took more time and left room for typos.
The biggest problem was that along the way Direct File told me that I couldn’t actually file my federal tax return on this site. Hmm.
I missed a detail in the eligibility checklist that says you can’t use Direct File if your interest income last year was more than $1,500. Hooray. I was also denied because I had deposited money into a health savings account, a fund through my employer, to help pay for medical expenses.
Anyway, I ran the whole Direct File process to see what happened. I was also pleasantly surprised by how easy the website was to use, with clear questions and helpful explanations. And did we mention it’s free? (If you can use it.)
Warning: Direct File and Existing IRS options Complete your tax return online.
You can also set up an account with the IRS Free file fillable forms Website. Unlike Direct File or TurboTax, you have to fill out the tax form yourself line by line. (Read more about free and low-cost tax filing options.)
My colleague Monica Rodman found the free file-fillable forms confusing to use. Monica was so unsure of the results that she double-checked her work in TurboTax. The whole process took 12 hours!
I gave up on Monica but had a good experience using it us free tax — Free for federal returns, $15 for state returns.
The Free File Alliance runs a program called Fillable Forms. IRS Free FileAccording to the report, approximately 463,000 households filed tax returns using fillable forms last year. Recently NPR report More than 50,000 people have tried Direct File so far. Every year, tens of millions of Americans use TurboTax to file their taxes.
The problem IRS Direct File is trying to solve
Critics of Direct File in Congress and Industry To tell Governments waste money by duplicating existing services like Intuit’s TurboTax, H&R Block, and small taxpayer services.
I can’t answer whether Direct File needs to exist. As a technology writer and long-time TurboTax user, I can say that commercial tax software is exhausting me.
I like using TurboTax. But I hate being forced to pay for extra features I don’t want over and over again. TurboTax also repeatedly tried to get me to use Credit Karma, a personal finance site also owned by Intuit.
And TurboTax is asking for permission to use your personal information, such as your income and debts, to market your financial services and make more money. (There is a way to say no to this.)
Direct File didn’t work for me, but I liked that it didn’t have any of the annoying nagging that TurboTax had.
Intuit did not respond to my questions.
We understand that not everyone can trust government tax websites. However, I appreciate being able to choose between filing my tax return directly with his IRS for free or using a paid commercial website.
Hilary Hartley CEO Digital readiness in the USa non-profit organization. help the government In creating technology services, he said, the public and government agencies benefit from competent public websites like Direct File.
We expect technology to function well in our lives. “If the government can deliver on the same commitments, we can reap the benefits of rebuilding trust in our institutions,” Hartley said.
Julie Zauzmer Weil contributed to this report.
- Yes, you can file your tax return for free. Here are your options.
- According to the IRS, nearly 1 million people have not received a tax refund since 2020. Here’s how to find out if the IRS owes you money.
- TurboTax and H&R Block now use AI for tax advice. That’s terrible.
