A new IRS program is helping its first users file their income taxes electronically. And it’s free

By FATIMA HUSSEIN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government’s new free electronic filing system for income tax returns is getting its first users this filing season. The IRS pilot program is known as Direct File and it’s rolling out in a limited way in 12 states. If it’s successful and scaled up for the general public’s use, the program could drastically change how Americans file their taxes. That is, if the agency can keep enough money flowing to see the program through development despite threats to its funding. A Texas woman who works for the IRS but isn’t a tax expert was the first user of the new program. She says she completed her taxes this year in about an hour using the program.