Tim Hugo

Use IRS.gov/free. One million children have already been signed up & claimed a free $1000!

Go to IRS.gov/FreeFile ... Members of the military have unique taxes. There are programs to help you file your taxes for FREE. Use MilTax, @FreeFileTaxes or Free File Fillable Forms and get your return filed. See tax tip at ow.ly/TX0z50YmATx.

Most members of the military are eligible for a free tax return from the IRS. Get yours now! @IRSnews @FreeFile

Senator Marsha Blackburn introduces bill to eliminate "unauthorized" Direct File program. @DOGE @FreeFileTaxes @IRSnews @RepAdrianSmith @VoteMarsha @alec_states

Bill to abolish Biden Administration Direct File in the House will save hundreds of millions! Free File already does everything, and more, at no cost to the taxpayer! @DOGE @FreeFileTaxes @IRSnews @VoteMarsha @ALEC_states @RepAdrianSmith

Critics of Direct File note that it is an unauthorized program that allows the unpopular tax collection agency to act as “judge, jury, and Lord High Executioner,” Sen. John Barrasso (R., Wyo.). @FreeFileTaxes @IRSnews @DOGE

Barrons says Direct File is on the "chopping block". Barron’s – IRS Direct File Tax-Prep Program Could Be on the Chopping Block By Kenneth Corbin January 9, 2025       Direct File, the free tax-preparation and filing service the IRS launched as a pilot program last year and has expanded for this tax season, could be on the chopping block in the next administration.   President-elect Trump has said he intends to nominate Billy Long to head the agency, indicating that he will oust current Commissioner Danny Werfel before his five-year term expires in November 2027.   Long is a former Republican congressman from Missouri who never served on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, but did back numerous tax-focused bills, including one that would have prohibited the IRS from developing its own tax-prep program.   The IRS under Werfel has billed Direct File as a free alternative to commercial tax-prep services such as Intuit's Turbo Tax, and the agency has said the pilot program saved taxpayers $5.6 million in filing fees in the 12 states in which it was available for the 2023 tax year.   Direct File was a product of a substantial budget increase the IRS received through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, though the agency's funding looks more precarious in the next administration when Republicans, many of whom have expressed hostility to the additional funding, will control the White House and both chambers of Congress. Already, half of the extra $80 billion allocated to the IRS under the 2022 law has been rescinded through negotiations to keep the overall government funded.   The IRS put much of its funding increase to use in beefing up enforcement in a bid to crack down on wealthy tax cheats, but it also allocated money to improve customer service and enhance its technology, including developing Direct File.   The IRS said it spent $12.9 million in development and operations costs to set up Direct File, and last May reported that it had spent $24.6 million on the program since its inception. The project also received support from the U.S. Digital Service, the cost of which wasn't included in that total. In 2023, the IRS estimated that Direct File could cost $64 million to $249 million annually to operate, depending on factors such as how many taxpayers use the service. A Government Accountability Office report last year found fault with the IRS' accounting of the program and recommended the agency "ensure that best practices are used to estimate and document the full costs" of Direct File.   An uncertain future. With the incoming administration, which has proposed slashing government spending across the board, the future of Direct File is far from certain.   "I think the program is certainly in danger," Dustin Stamper, a managing director in Grant Thornton's Washington national tax office, tells Barron's Advisor. "Many Republicans oppose it, and the new administration could simply choose to abandon the effort."   In December, shortly after Trump said he intended to nominate Long to head the IRS, 29 House Republicans signed on to a letter calling on the president-elect to issue an executive order on his first day in office directing the IRS to abandon the program, which they criticized as "unauthorized and wasteful."   "Under the guise of offering a convenient 'free-to-file' alternative preparation service, the IRS asserts itself as the tax assessor, collector, preparer, and enforcer—all in one—when the program is used," the lawmakers wrote. Vocal critic. Intuit has publicly criticized Direct File and has made no secret that it would like to see the IRS scrap the program.   "IRS Direct File is a solution in search of a problem and that solution will unnecessarily cost hardworking Americans billions of dollars for something that already exists," Intuit spokeswoman Tania Mercado. @DOGE @IRSnews