Just FYI, for people living in the following states:
Arizona
California
Florida
Massachusetts
Nevada
New Hampshire
New York
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Washington
Wyoming
You will be able to participate in the pilot program called Direct File.
Unlike Free File, Direct File is open to any income level and is NOT through a third party provider. You are directly filing with the IRS. That said, it is indeed a pilot program and it does not offer many of the usual IRS forms, so check the website to see if you can use this or not.
And for those wondering. Yes, this is exactly the kind of thing Intuit et al lobbied hard to Congress back in 2022 to not pass.
Obviously this isn't the return free system we've been promised since the 80s. But it is a good first step. The IRS has been tasked to report back to Congress when the pilot is over this year. For all we know the new system may work correct right out of the box, may eat some children, or cause the Hoover dam to explode. This is the first time the IRS has been allowed to build such a thing for the public.
Hopefully this all goes off without a hitch, because every success with Direct File is a kick to Goodarzi's nuts. Here's hoping this is the first step towards simplified taxes/return free taxes.