In early February 2025, claims emerged that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Elon Musk, had terminated, or planned to terminate, a program — Direct File — run by the IRS that allows (some) citizens to file individual tax returns for free:

IRS Direct File is back again this year with significantly expanded eligibility despite confusion over whether Elon Musk had “deleted” it. (He didn’t.)

Elon Musk, head of the chaos-causing Department of Government Efficiency, made an assertion this week that raised questions in some people’s minds about the status of the IRS Direct File program. That program enables tax filers in 25 states,

The IRS Direct File program, which lets you prepare and file your federal return for free, is still up and running, for now.

This should be a banner year for taxpayers seeking free tax-preparation. But one key IRS program is under fire.

Billionaire Elon Musk posted on his social media site that he had “deleted” 18F, an agency that worked on the IRS’ Direct File program.

The Internal Revenue Service is accepting tax returns for tax season 2025, including through the expanded Direct File program. Why it matters: There's been some confusion on the status of the free online tax-filing program after Elon Musk posted on X Monday that he had "deleted" 18F,

Did the world’s richest man “delete” a free federal tax service that just became available to NJ residents? Here’s what we know so far.

Tax season can be stressful from gathering all the required documents to finding a trusted place to file. Here are some options for filing for free.

The Internal Revenue Service launched a pilot program last year that allows people to file their taxes directly with the federal government for free. This project is known as Direct File and has since expanded to 25 states.