Per an announcement to state tax agencies reported by Federal News Network in November 2025, the IRS said Direct File will not be available in filing season 2026 and that no launch date has been set for the future. The free federal e-filing tool, which more than two dozen states had joined as recently as the 2025 season, is therefore absent from the current filing season, which opened Jan. 26, 2026 per the IRS. Taxpayers who used the tool last year need a different route this spring, and the deadline for most filers is April 15, 2026.
What changed?
Direct File launched as a pilot in the 2024 filing season and expanded to 25 states plus the District of Columbia for the 2025 season, covering taxpayers with relatively simple federal returns. After the 2025 season, the program's future had been in question, and the November 2025 notice to the states made the outcome explicit: no 2026 availability. The IRS has not tied the pause to a specific restart date, and states that built their own free-filing portals around Direct File have been adjusting their guidance accordingly.
What are the alternatives?
Per the IRS's filing-season announcement, taxpayers still have several no-cost options. IRS Free File connects eligible taxpayers to partner software; income limits apply and generally exclude higher earners from the guided version. Free File Fillable Forms, electronic versions of paper forms, are open to filers regardless of income but offer little hand-holding and no state return. Many of the states that participated in Direct File, including New York with its long-running Free File program and other states that launched direct-filing portals in 2024 and 2025, continue to operate their own systems for state returns.
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Who is affected?
Roughly the population Direct File was built for: taxpayers in participating states with straightforward wage income who previously filed federal and state returns free through the tool. They will need to pick a new option, and filers who also need a state return should check whether their state offers its own free portal before paying for commercial software.
What it means for you
If you used Direct File in 2024 or 2025, do not wait for a login that will not come. Start at IRS.gov's Free File or Free File Fillable Forms pages, or your state revenue department's website, to find the current free options for 2025 returns. Eligibility rules differ by product, and the IRS's own pages — not software marketing — list the requirements, so verify your option there before you begin. If you prefer paper or in-person help, IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers and VITA sites remain available by appointment or walk-in where offered.
What happens next?
The IRS has not said whether Direct File returns for the 2027 season. Any restart would likely be announced well before the next filing season opens, and Congress may weigh in: the program's funding and authority have been recurring subjects of appropriations debate. Watch IRS.gov and your state tax agency for updates, since both will carry the official word before anything else does.