Overview
- Three senators — Elizabeth Warren, Angus King, and Ron Wyden — asked the Government Accountability Office to open a new probe into the IRS’s Free File program.
- They want the watchdog to review costs, user experience, accessibility, accuracy, oversight of private partners, and progress on linking to state returns.
- The request follows the IRS’s government-run Direct File pilot, which drew high user-satisfaction scores before the Trump administration ended it and promoted Free File instead.
- Free File, a two-decade partnership with for‑profit tax companies that promises no‑cost filing for eligible users, has drawn criticism for low uptake, hidden charges, and data‑privacy concerns.
- Senator Warren’s office says partner firms leaked sensitive taxpayer data to private tech companies, and the IRS did not provide comment to reporters by publication time.