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3w ago

Senate Weighs Fast-Track Bid to Restore IRS Direct File

The move tests whether senators will back a free government tax-filing option over the interests of private tax-prep firms.

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Two tax giants, H&R Block and Intuit (the owner of TurboTax), have spent over $100 million in federal lobbying since 2003.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts and ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, during a hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, March 26, 2026. The committee is holding a hearing on the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank.

Overview

  • The Direct File Act, which Sen. Elizabeth Warren brought up for unanimous consent in the Senate on Wednesday, would advance to the House only if no senator objects.
  • The bill would let people file taxes for free directly with the IRS and would block any deals that limit the agency from offering no-cost preparation or filing tools.
  • In 2024 the IRS pilot served about 140,000 filers in 12 states, with Treasury reporting more than $90 million in refunds, roughly $5.6 million in avoided fees, and about 90% favorable ratings.
  • The IRS expanded the program to 25 states in 2025 before ending it, a reversal Warren links to lobbying by Intuit and H&R Block that OpenSecrets estimates at more than $103 million over two decades with higher spending since 2023.
  • For taxpayers, a restored system could cut out private fees, unlike the existing Free File portal that sends eligible filers to private companies and works differently from the IRS-built Direct File.