IRS Direct File — check before you count on it

What this actually is

Direct File was the IRS’s own free filing tool, run directly by the government rather than by a tax company. Do not plan around it without checking first. Verified on 2026-09-14: directfile.irs.gov did not resolve, and the IRS filing hub and the IRS Free File page carried no mention of Direct File. That is what the official sources showed on that date, and it is stated here rather than guessed at. If you were relying on Direct File, the substitutes that ARE verifiably live are IRS Free File and a VITA site — both free, both above.

Who qualifies, and what trips people up

Nothing to be eligible for unless and until the IRS lists it again. Check irs.gov/filing at the start of the filing season. Treat any non-government site claiming to be "IRS Direct File" as what it is — someone else’s product using the name.