According to The Associated Press, IRS Direct File  will not be offered next year as confirmed by the Trump administration. Direct File is the tax agency's free electronic system for filing tax returns.

An email that was sent Nov. 3 from IRS official Cynthia Noe told comptrollers that take part in program stated that “IRS Direct File will not be available in Filing Season 2026. No launch date has been set for the future.”

The tax agency's webpage for Direct File states that “Direct File is closed. More information will be available at a later date.”

The program was developed during the previous administration and was credited for making tax filings easy, quick, and economical. But the program was criticized by Republican lawmakers.

They characterized it as a waste of taxpayer money given that there are already existing filing programs, despite them not being user-friendly.

Commercial tax preparation companies, which have been making billions from charging to utilize their software, also opposed the IRS filing program.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is also the current IRS commissioner, said to reporters at the White House on Nov. 5 that there are “better alternatives” to Direct File.

Bessent noted that Direct File “wasn’t used very much," adding that they believe "that the private sector can do a better job.”