DirectFile, free covid tests via USPS, child tax credit: federal programs that worked and benefited ordinary people and therefore had to be ended in case everyone got used to it
It sucks because Direct File was one of the first times a lot of people ever had a positive experience using a government website or service.
IRS Direct File dies a sad, quick death after only a brief time among the living.
Why? It's not because it's a bad idea or that it didn't work.
It's because TurboTax's parent company spent decades trying to make sure they controlled the e-filing market:
Why? It's not because it's a bad idea or that it didn't work.
It's because TurboTax's parent company spent decades trying to make sure they controlled the e-filing market:
November 4, 2025 at 11:32 PM
DirectFile, free covid tests via USPS, child tax credit: federal programs that worked and benefited ordinary people and therefore had to be ended in case everyone got used to it
“Filing taxes” — when they killed DirectFile 🤦🏻
August 26, 2025 at 1:29 PM
“Filing taxes” — when they killed DirectFile 🤦🏻
I will never not be mad that they killed directfile
My friend and I both tested it against a commercial product for our fairly simple returns. Exact same amount. Except directfile was free and didn't try to upsell me constantly
My friend and I both tested it against a commercial product for our fairly simple returns. Exact same amount. Except directfile was free and didn't try to upsell me constantly
June 4, 2026 at 11:02 PM
I will never not be mad that they killed directfile
My friend and I both tested it against a commercial product for our fairly simple returns. Exact same amount. Except directfile was free and didn't try to upsell me constantly
My friend and I both tested it against a commercial product for our fairly simple returns. Exact same amount. Except directfile was free and didn't try to upsell me constantly
DOGE IRS lead Sam Corcos has also told agency workers that he wants to kill DirectFile, IRS's recently released free tax-filing service.
www.wired.com/story/doge-h...
www.wired.com/story/doge-h...
April 5, 2025 at 6:41 PM
DOGE IRS lead Sam Corcos has also told agency workers that he wants to kill DirectFile, IRS's recently released free tax-filing service.
www.wired.com/story/doge-h...
www.wired.com/story/doge-h...
We HAD it... DirectFile Free.
TRUMPSTEIN got rid of it. He despises the poor and middle-class in this country.
TRUMPSTEIN got rid of it. He despises the poor and middle-class in this country.
April 15, 2026 at 1:55 PM
We HAD it... DirectFile Free.
TRUMPSTEIN got rid of it. He despises the poor and middle-class in this country.
TRUMPSTEIN got rid of it. He despises the poor and middle-class in this country.
Private companies like Turbotax have been ripping taxpayers off for years.
But thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration, this #TaxDay you can file for free online with IRS DirectFile.
Go to directfile.irs.gov.
But thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration, this #TaxDay you can file for free online with IRS DirectFile.
Go to directfile.irs.gov.
directfile.irs.gov
April 15, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Private companies like Turbotax have been ripping taxpayers off for years.
But thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration, this #TaxDay you can file for free online with IRS DirectFile.
Go to directfile.irs.gov.
But thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration, this #TaxDay you can file for free online with IRS DirectFile.
Go to directfile.irs.gov.
Folks (and this thing has gone around quickly), it's still unclear *what* has been "deleted"; as many of you have noted DirectFile remains active. Part of the danger of Government-By-Unelected-Nutball is that what's actually *true* is a moving target.
If you RT'd my initial post, RT this as well.
If you RT'd my initial post, RT this as well.
Elon Musk claims to have "deleted" the office in the IRS which has enabled people to file their tax returns electronically, simply, and for free.
February 3, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Folks (and this thing has gone around quickly), it's still unclear *what* has been "deleted"; as many of you have noted DirectFile remains active. Part of the danger of Government-By-Unelected-Nutball is that what's actually *true* is a moving target.
If you RT'd my initial post, RT this as well.
If you RT'd my initial post, RT this as well.
Folks (and this thing has gone around quickly), it's still unclear *what* has been "deleted"; as many of you have noted DirectFile remains active. Part of the danger of Government-By-Unelected-Nutball is that what's actually *true* is a moving target.
If you RT'd my initial post, RT this as well.
If you RT'd my initial post, RT this as well.
February 3, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Folks (and this thing has gone around quickly), it's still unclear *what* has been "deleted"; as many of you have noted DirectFile remains active. Part of the danger of Government-By-Unelected-Nutball is that what's actually *true* is a moving target.
If you RT'd my initial post, RT this as well.
If you RT'd my initial post, RT this as well.
The IRS Tax Filing Software TurboTax Is Trying to Kill Just Got Open Sourced
🔗 www.404media.co/directfile-o...
🔗 www.404media.co/directfile-o...
The IRS Tax Filing Software TurboTax Is Trying to Kill Just Got Open Sourced
Direct File has been open sourced, and its creators have left government to continue working on the "future of tax filing."
www.404media.co
June 4, 2025 at 2:12 PM
The IRS Tax Filing Software TurboTax Is Trying to Kill Just Got Open Sourced
🔗 www.404media.co/directfile-o...
🔗 www.404media.co/directfile-o...
Trump isn't running the government like a business. He's running it like a scam. The pattern is clear:
Switzerland gifts Trump a gold bar → tariff cut
$1M from TurboTax → DirectFile killed
$1M from Capital One → CFPB lawsuit dropped
New analysis of Trump's corruption w/ @econliberties.bsky.social
Switzerland gifts Trump a gold bar → tariff cut
$1M from TurboTax → DirectFile killed
$1M from Capital One → CFPB lawsuit dropped
New analysis of Trump's corruption w/ @econliberties.bsky.social
The Price of Corruption: How Trump's Pay-to-Play Administration is Driving Up Costs for Working Families - Groundwork Collaborative
loom.ly
June 3, 2026 at 8:49 PM
Trump isn't running the government like a business. He's running it like a scam. The pattern is clear:
Switzerland gifts Trump a gold bar → tariff cut
$1M from TurboTax → DirectFile killed
$1M from Capital One → CFPB lawsuit dropped
New analysis of Trump's corruption w/ @econliberties.bsky.social
Switzerland gifts Trump a gold bar → tariff cut
$1M from TurboTax → DirectFile killed
$1M from Capital One → CFPB lawsuit dropped
New analysis of Trump's corruption w/ @econliberties.bsky.social
Filed with DirectFile on Friday. You want me to keep you posted?
February 3, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Filed with DirectFile on Friday. You want me to keep you posted?
This is the most important thing Mamdani is doing in NYC right now
Getting it right could have dramatic results for the entire country
Imagine a goverment with a functional online presence built to serve citizens, not industry. IRS DirectFile was a great start, but small peanuts
Getting it right could have dramatic results for the entire country
Imagine a goverment with a functional online presence built to serve citizens, not industry. IRS DirectFile was a great start, but small peanuts
Mamdani has just unveiled his Public Interest Technology (PIT) Crews: five "game changing" teams of public interest hackers who will remake NYC's digital services:
www.nyc.gov/mayors-offic...
36/
www.nyc.gov/mayors-offic...
36/
Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Launches “Public Interest Technology (Pit) Crew” to Rapidly Build Digital Solutions to Public Problems
www.nyc.gov
August 9, 2026 at 7:01 PM
This is the most important thing Mamdani is doing in NYC right now
Getting it right could have dramatic results for the entire country
Imagine a goverment with a functional online presence built to serve citizens, not industry. IRS DirectFile was a great start, but small peanuts
Getting it right could have dramatic results for the entire country
Imagine a goverment with a functional online presence built to serve citizens, not industry. IRS DirectFile was a great start, but small peanuts
Sam Corcos, who entered government with DOGE earlier this year, decided to kill DirectFile after one meeting with with tax software lobbyists.
www.wired.com/story/doge-d...
www.wired.com/story/doge-d...
November 4, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Sam Corcos, who entered government with DOGE earlier this year, decided to kill DirectFile after one meeting with with tax software lobbyists.
www.wired.com/story/doge-d...
www.wired.com/story/doge-d...
Even his Blue Check reply guys are pissed. The only purpose is to benefit TurboTax and H&R Block.
February 3, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Even his Blue Check reply guys are pissed. The only purpose is to benefit TurboTax and H&R Block.
Happy Tax Day!
You're paying a Big Tax Prep company like TurboTax to do your taxes because the Trump admin gutted the free and easy IRS tax filing tool DirectFile.
Meanwhile, 88 corporations with $105B in profits paid zero in federal income tax.
The system is rigged
You're paying a Big Tax Prep company like TurboTax to do your taxes because the Trump admin gutted the free and easy IRS tax filing tool DirectFile.
Meanwhile, 88 corporations with $105B in profits paid zero in federal income tax.
The system is rigged
April 15, 2026 at 5:06 PM
Happy Tax Day!
You're paying a Big Tax Prep company like TurboTax to do your taxes because the Trump admin gutted the free and easy IRS tax filing tool DirectFile.
Meanwhile, 88 corporations with $105B in profits paid zero in federal income tax.
The system is rigged
You're paying a Big Tax Prep company like TurboTax to do your taxes because the Trump admin gutted the free and easy IRS tax filing tool DirectFile.
Meanwhile, 88 corporations with $105B in profits paid zero in federal income tax.
The system is rigged
The IRS Tax Filing Software TurboTax Is Trying to Kill Just Got Open Sourced
🔗 www.404media.co/directfile-o...
🔗 www.404media.co/directfile-o...
The IRS Tax Filing Software TurboTax Is Trying to Kill Just Got Open Sourced
Direct File has been open sourced, and its creators have left government to continue working on the "future of tax filing."
www.404media.co
June 4, 2025 at 7:25 PM
The IRS Tax Filing Software TurboTax Is Trying to Kill Just Got Open Sourced
🔗 www.404media.co/directfile-o...
🔗 www.404media.co/directfile-o...
PSA: To clear up confusion created by Muskrat Apartheid, the IRS’s free tax prep program DirectFile IS up and running in 25 states for free, convenient tax filing
directfile.irs.gov
directfile.irs.gov
February 4, 2025 at 4:36 AM
PSA: To clear up confusion created by Muskrat Apartheid, the IRS’s free tax prep program DirectFile IS up and running in 25 states for free, convenient tax filing
directfile.irs.gov
directfile.irs.gov
Your annual reminder that Intuit/TurboTax have spent 20 years using their lobbying power to prevent the federal government from offering you free and functional electronic tax filing. DirectFile finally delivers that, but they haven't stopped trying to kill it. www.opensecrets.org/news/2024/02...
TurboTax maker Intuit spent millions in record lobbying blitz amid threats to tax prep industry - OpenSecrets News
TurboTax parent company Intuit spent millions in a record lobbying blitz amid government scrutiny and threats to the tax prep industry.
www.opensecrets.org
February 10, 2025 at 12:35 AM
Your annual reminder that Intuit/TurboTax have spent 20 years using their lobbying power to prevent the federal government from offering you free and functional electronic tax filing. DirectFile finally delivers that, but they haven't stopped trying to kill it. www.opensecrets.org/news/2024/02...
Elon's entire crew being very confused and turning on him over DirectFile is very funny, tbh
February 4, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Elon's entire crew being very confused and turning on him over DirectFile is very funny, tbh
Yea it's funny because this assumes people would no longer have to file - but one of the reasons the income tax has gotten progressive is things like the CTC and EITC, which still require filing. So all of the assumptions here are wrong. And yea I'm sure he opposed DirectFile.
May 21, 2026 at 2:56 AM
Yea it's funny because this assumes people would no longer have to file - but one of the reasons the income tax has gotten progressive is things like the CTC and EITC, which still require filing. So all of the assumptions here are wrong. And yea I'm sure he opposed DirectFile.
I am still so, so angry about the elimination of DirectFile. It was great! It was possibly the only time I’ve ever raved about how easy it was to use a government program. But, ah, it stood counter to the GOP position that taxes should hurt and government should be useless to ordinary people.
New, from me: American taxpayers will spend billions of hours and hundreds of billions of dollars — not to pay their taxes, but to report them to the government.
Thank Trump, who killed Direct File, a free tax high-quality reporting tool that IRS had built. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/what-the-d...
Thank Trump, who killed Direct File, a free tax high-quality reporting tool that IRS had built. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/what-the-d...
What the death of Direct File tells us about state capacity
We CAN have nice things - if we want them
donmoynihan.substack.com
April 13, 2026 at 4:56 PM
I am still so, so angry about the elimination of DirectFile. It was great! It was possibly the only time I’ve ever raved about how easy it was to use a government program. But, ah, it stood counter to the GOP position that taxes should hurt and government should be useless to ordinary people.
this money would pay for more than a thousand civic technologists working on nice things like DirectFile, easy passport renewal, etc
February 22, 2025 at 4:48 PM
this money would pay for more than a thousand civic technologists working on nice things like DirectFile, easy passport renewal, etc
New from 404 Media: the IRS tax filing software Turbotax tried to kill just got opened source. Available on Github, people are forking it
www.404media.co/directfile-o...
www.404media.co/directfile-o...
The IRS Tax Filing Software TurboTax Is Trying to Kill Just Got Open Sourced
Direct File has been open sourced, and its creators have left government to continue working on the "future of tax filing."
www.404media.co
June 4, 2025 at 4:59 PM
New from 404 Media: the IRS tax filing software Turbotax tried to kill just got opened source. Available on Github, people are forking it
www.404media.co/directfile-o...
www.404media.co/directfile-o...
The IRS DirectFile was a critical step in getting there and Republicans blew it up. Fortunately, that got built in like two years so hopefully it can be spun back up again.
June 22, 2026 at 1:19 PM
The IRS DirectFile was a critical step in getting there and Republicans blew it up. Fortunately, that got built in like two years so hopefully it can be spun back up again.