A watchdog will investigate the IRS’s partnership with the private sector to help taxpayers file returns for free, following a request from Democratic lawmakers.
The Government Accountability Office said in a letter it will accept a request from Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Angus King (I-Maine) to update a 2022 report that looked at whether the government should develop additional free options to help taxpayers who require assistance filing their returns. Democrats have argued that the Free File program uptake underperforms and its partners have a history of misconduct, including exposing sensitive taxpayer information.
The program, where the IRS and a group of tax preparation companies help taxpayers file without paying a fee, saw an uptick in usage during the most recent filing season after Republicans fulfilled their years-long goal of dissolving the agency’s own free filing tool, Direct File.
The free-filing partnership option historically has been criticized for its low uptake with taxpayers compared to those eligible. About 2.7 million taxpayers filed using Free File in 2025, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate report.
“It’s more than a little ironic that some Senators continue to criticize the IRS Free File Program when this program provided more than 10 times as many free federal tax returns for Tax Year 2024 (more than 3 million) than the costly and unnecessary Direct File project (about 296,000 free returns),” said Tim Hugo, executive director of the Free File Alliance. “We urge Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to support the promotion of the IRS Free File so that it may serve the broadest possible number of taxpayers.”
Supporters of Direct File have said the Trump administration curbed the success of the program during its last season by saying it was eliminated when it wasn’t.
This year, taxpayers who made $89,000 or less have the option to file for free with one of these eight companies: FreeTaxUSA, OnLine Taxes, ezTaxReturn.com, TaxSlayer, 1040Now, 1040.com, FileYourTaxes.com, and TaxAct.
(Added comment from Free File Alliance.)