GAO: Direct File Customer Support Staff May Not be Ready for Tax Time

Despite a successful pilot last filing season, the IRS may have challenges in the first full year operating its Direct File program this year due to customer support staff recruitment and training issues, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). (GAO-25-106933, 12/19/2024)

Direct File, the IRS’ new self-run free electronic tax filing tool developed using Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169) funds, debuted in the middle of the 2024 tax season. During the pilot, a limited scope of eligible participants across 12 states reported overall positive experiences when using Direct File to complete and submit federal income tax returns.

Deeming the pilot a success after Direct File handled over $140,000 returns, the IRS announced that the program will become permanent and invited all 50 states to participate. So far, 24 states opted in as the IRS plans to expand Direct File to handle more tax situations and become a viable filing option for more taxpayers this upcoming tax season. Direct File, the agency has said, will add features to accommodate more credits and deductions, income sources, and state returns.

But based on conversations with IRS officials since the end of the pilot, the GAO warned in a report released December 19 that there may be some growing pains as demand increases.

This filing season, the IRS expects as many as 5 million taxpayers to use Direct File. To be fully prepared, the agency will need to scale its roster of customer support representatives (CSRs) accordingly. Taxpayers could chat electronically with CSRs during the pilot and receive answers to questions with an average response time of 1 minute, the GAO said. The Direct File team had an agreement with the Taxpayer Services Division to train and assign 400 CRS to provide support, but the agreement was only for the pilot.

“In July 2024, Direct File officials told us they had decided to hire CSRs directly into the new Direct File office, rather than using CSRs detailed from Taxpayer Services or other IRS divisions for the 2025 filing season,” the GAO reported. “Direct File officials told us that they planned to only hire current IRS employees because of their existing tax law knowledge and training.”

However, the IRS has struggled to determine the best way to hire new Direct File-specific CSRs, the report found. On July 30, officials posted CSR openings on the federal job board, but the announcement was taken down about a week later. This is because the agency was concerned the job description implied that the Direct File CSR roles had promotion opportunities when no upward mobility was intended, officials told the GAO.

The IRS’ Human Capital Office helped revise the job description, but the Direct File team was “unable to coordinate the revised language with other relevant IRS units due to time constraints,” the GAO said.

Instead, officials reached another agreement with Taxpayer Services to enlist the help of 180 CSRs and 10 leads for the 2025 filing season. The recruited staff will still be assigned to Taxpayer Services and will not report directly in the Direct File Office as initially planned.

IRS briefings indicated it may “take until mid-February” to train CSRs on Direct File and its electronic chat function, meaning taxpayers could wait longer to reach a representative and resolve issues.

The IRS is still refining its estimates for exactly how many CSRs will be needed to support 5 million users. While the 180 figure seemed to be enough based on early calculations, it was only a placeholder, set in May. As of October, the IRS had not finished compiling data for a more precise estimate.

“The absence of an agencywide coordinated plan to hire CSRs to support Direct File delayed recruitment and training of these employees, which may make it harder for taxpayers to obtain prompt and high-quality assistance with Direct File in 2025 and future filing seasons,” read the report.