Although the future is doubtful for the future of IRS Direct File, taxpayers who completed and submitted their federal tax returns in the program’s first full year raved about how the program made this filing season less stressful.
Former National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson said it was “bittersweet” to see across-the-board positive marks from Direct File users this year, as the Trump administration “effectively administratively killed” the program and will dissolve its development and support teams. The end of the short-lived program comes a year after former IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel announced Direct File would remain a permanent option moving forward, with more states and features to come.
Olson, who founded and leads the Center for Taxpayer Rights, obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request the Direct File team’s after action report on the 2025 tax season, dated May 13 and shared on the Center’s website June 6.
“It tells an inspiring story of a product genuinely transforming tax administration in America, a story made bittersweet only by the fact that such progress has been cut short,” said Olson of the report, which follows up its takeaways from the limited pilot program conducted partway into last year’s filing season.
Direct File usage.
Direct File is an e-filing alternative to commercial tax preparation third-party providers. Developed using additional IRS funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, Direct File served to streamline the tax filing process for typical individuals, especially those with straightforward sources of income and simple tax situations.
Twelve states participated in the pilot, which expanded to 25 states for 2025. The number of eligible taxpayers also more than doubled, up from 15.4 million during the pilot to 32.2 million. This roughly scaled with the number of accepted returns (296,531) reflecting a 111% year-over-year increase. The rate of accepted returns rose to 87.9% this year, as 73.4% of returns were accepted last year. The vast majority (91.2%) were accepted on the first try.
Items new to Direct File for this tax season include added support for the Premium Tax Credit (PTC), Child and Dependent Care Credit, Form 1099-R income, the Savers’ Credit, interest income over $1,500, and the Health Savings Account deduction.
The report noted one particular improvement the team prioritized since the pilot that fixed an issue causing “many” rejected returns last year — compatibility with Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit. Previously, PTC claimants using Direct File were not able to attach Forms 8962 with their returns and thus needed to seek other filing options and start the process over. Users “experienced greater burden” because of this during the pilot, but taxpayers this year were able to “easily fix” a missing Form 8962 error and “didn’t need to lose the work they had already done,” read the report.
The reviews are in.
Overall, 94% of survey respondents among 2025 Direct File users said their experience was positive, selecting either “Excellent” (78%) or “Above Average” (16%) on a five-point scale. Last year, this level was 90%. Direct File’s “Net Promoter Score” metric gauging user feedback also improved to +80, up from +74.
Taxpayers said Direct File is “user friendly” and helps relay complex tax information in a digestible format. Answers are accessible and helped filers feel confident in the accuracy of their returns, the report summarized.
“My goal was to file my return in the easiest and least painful way, and this experience was even better than I expected,” one user was quoted in saying. “And of course the fact that it is free was a bonus!”
“I really appreciate the simple, plain language,” said another. “Even as simple as saying, ‘If this box contains other codes, that’s okay.’ It was like a person talking to me.”
Others appreciated that Direct File was free as advertised, meaning there were no hidden costs or fees. “I NEVER get to file free on tax returns,” a Direct Filer commended. “In this economy, every $0.01 saved is a bonus.”
Such positive experiences correlated with 68% of taxpayers agreeing with the statement that Direct File helped improve their trust in the IRS. However, others were more reluctant, telling the IRS they “worry about information being stolen and used for other purposes” or that they no longer believe in the agency’s ability to “keep my tax data private.” Some responses pointed to the unexpected time and steps involved with completing the identity verification stage, citing frustrations with the IRS’ vendor, ID.me.
Doubts over availability.
The Direct File team said the program was not promoted during filing season or the weeks leading up to it. While “interest” among those who know about the program is “significant,” “awareness” of its existence is still low.
Word of mouth and outreach by states and community organizations trended positively in the Net Promoter Score, but “uncertainty” about its future muddy the public perception of Direct File, according to the report.
The team observed that the bulk of media coverage on Direct File had to do with whether it was still available or already offline. By its account, taxpayers in the beginning of February were “operating under the mistaken belief that” Direct File was not an option for tax year 2024 returns.
Some expressed concern that their return would be rejected as invalid if they used Direct File and it were later discontinued. As a point of clarification, the team said the IRS “does not discriminate” between sources of e-filed returns.
For many taxpayers, Direct File lacked support relevant to their tax situation, or did not see enough benefit to change their usual filing method — even though the IRS campaigned on better integration with state-level returns.
The Direct File team bemoaned the agency’s lack of a long-term roadmap, which “could provide much-needed clarity for taxpayers to understand when Direct File will be available to them, for states to plan the development of their own filing tools,” and for the tax preparation industry to “understand” the agency’s intention behind Direct File.
“If Direct File is truly a permanent filing option, it should have a public roadmap spanning three to five years into the future.”
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