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  1. Taxes
  2. Tax Software

The IRS Will Test Out Its Own Free Tax Prep Software in 2024

By: Adam Hardy
Adam Hardy, expert in Personal finance, student loans, credit, job market, low-income finances, and Lead data journalist at Money
Adam Hardy
Lead data journalist | Joined May 2024
Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. Adam’s work has also appeared in Business Insider, Forbes, Nasdaq, The Penny Hoarder, Yahoo! Finance and many other outlets.
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Editor: Julia Glum
Julia Glum, expert in the IRS, taxes, credit scores, saving, colleges, mobile payment apps, and News Editor at Money
Julia Glum
News Editor | Joined February 2018
A graduate of the University of Florida, Julia has more than five years of experience in personal finance journalism. In addition to overseeing news coverage, she leads Money’s tax coverage, which includes extensive reporting on tax credits, policy changes and the IRS.
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Published: May 17, 2023 6 min read
Illustration of a person filing taxes online
Money; Getty Images

In just a couple years, you may be able to file your taxes online using free software created by Uncle Sam himself.

The IRS says that, on average, U.S. taxpayers spend $140 and eight hours filing their annual tax returns. To keep costs down and simplify the filing process, the agency announced Tuesday it is launching a pilot program next year to help some taxpayers file their returns for free online in a major step toward creating a free, government-run tax filing option for all Americans.

The agency is still ironing out the details of the pilot, but IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel told reporters on a call Tuesday that the public will be able to opt in, according to the Associated Press. He also stressed that the free government-run tax filing option is not intended to replace private-sector options like TurboTax or H&R Block.

“Taxpayers will always have choices for how they file their taxes,” Werfel said. “People should use the filing option that works best for them.”

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