The IRS accepted 140,803 returns filed by taxpayers using Direct File in the 12 states where it was available last tax season. It’s been expanded to include half the country this year. It is unclear how many taxpayers have used Direct File this year.
Merici Vinton, an original architect of Direct File from the U.S. Digital Service, noted the ease and accessibility of the program and called it “a great example of how people should interact with the government in the 21st century.”
“We effectively launched a startup in the IRS,” she said. “It was built by an in-house product team, in an iterative manner, and we ship updates to the software to improve user experience in real time based on feedback. If we continue to invest in it, both taxpayers and the IRS can benefit.”
Musk posted last month on his social media site that he had “deleted” 18F, a government agency that worked on technology projects such as the IRS’ Direct File program. This led to some confusion about whether Direct File is still available to taxpayers. However, conversations inside the IRS indicate that no decision has been made on whether to cut the program, two people familiar with these conversations tell the AP.
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