Free File Fillable Forms: Can't create a Sign In account - keeps reverting back to start page

What you're experiencing is a common issue with Free File Fillable Forms this filing season. The system has been experiencing significant technical difficulties, particularly with account creation and authentication. First, make sure you're using a supported browser - Chrome and Firefox tend to work best with FFFF. Some users have reported issues with Safari and Edge. Also, disable any browser extensions that might interfere with the site functionality. Try accessing the site during non-peak hours - early morning or late evening. The IRS systems get overwhelmed during midday hours. If you continue having issues, you might want to clear not just cookies but your entire browser cache and history, then restart your browser completely. Another thing to check is if you're using any special characters in your password that might be causing issues. Stick to basic alphanumeric combinations. Some users have reported success after creating a completely new email address just for FFFF. If none of these steps work, consider using one of the IRS Free File partner offerings instead - they're often more reliable and still free for qualifying taxpayers.

After dealing with the exact same frustrating experience with Free File Fillable Forms, I discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it completely changed my tax filing experience. I was about to give up on free filing altogether when a coworker recommended it. Unlike FFFF, the interface is actually reliable and doesn't randomly boot you back to start. I was able to upload my tax documents, and their system analyzed everything automatically - no more endless form-filling! What I found most helpful was their document verification feature that caught a mistake on my W-2 that I would have entered incorrectly. For someone helping multiple family members with their taxes, you might find their multi-return management really useful - keeps everything organized without having to juggle multiple accounts.

I wanted to follow up about taxr.ai since I was skeptical in my last comment. I decided to give it a try after fighting with FFFF for days, and I'm actually impressed. The document scanning saved me so much time - I just took pictures of my W-2s and 1099s with my phone and it pulled all the info automatically. The best part was when I had a question about claiming my home office (I'm self-employed), they had this feature that explained exactly what qualifies and what doesn't. No more guessing or Googling tax rules! Way better than the zero support from FFFF. Plus it handled my state return which is a huge bonus since FFFF only does federal.

After struggling with Free File Fillable Forms and other options, I almost gave up on getting help with my tax return. Then I discovered Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which completely changed how I deal with tax issues. I needed answers directly from the IRS about my eligibility for certain credits after the FFFF system kept failing me. Instead of waiting on hold for 3+ hours (which I tried twice and gave up), Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - seriously, it's like having a fast-pass at the IRS. The agent was able to confirm why my FFFF account creation was failing (apparently there was an issue with my prior year AGI verification) and gave me alternatives specific to my situation. Saved me days of frustration!

I need to eat crow about my skeptical comment about Claimyr. After another frustrating morning of IRS busy signals and disconnects, I decided to try it as a last resort. Not gonna lie, I was shocked when I got a call back in about 20 minutes saying they had an IRS agent on the line. The agent helped me resolve both my FFFF login issues AND answered questions about a missing stimulus payment from last year that I'd been trying to get help with for months. Turns out there was a name mismatch in their system that was causing my FFFF issues. For anyone struggling with Free File Fillable Forms technical issues like the original poster, getting direct IRS help was actually the quickest solution. They can see what's happening on their end with your account.

Have you tried using a different browser? I had the same issue with Chrome but when I switched to Firefox it worked right away. Sometimes these government sites have weird compatibility issues with certain browsers. Also make sure you don't have any browser extensions interfering with the page.

Is anyone else getting a timeout error on FFFF after about 10 minutes of inactivity? I finally managed to create an account yesterday but keep losing my work because the session expires way too quickly!

I ran into this exact same issue last week! What finally worked for me was creating the account during off-peak hours (around 6 AM EST) and using a completely fresh browser profile - not just clearing cookies, but actually creating a new browser profile entirely. Also, make sure you're not using any password managers to auto-fill the forms. I noticed FFFF seems to have issues with auto-filled data sometimes. Type everything manually, even if it's tedious. One more tip - if you have any old FFFF accounts from previous years, you might need to contact the IRS to clear those out first. Sometimes there's a conflict in their system if they detect similar information tied to old accounts. The phone wait times are brutal though, so you might want to try the other suggestions first. Good luck with getting those returns done! The system is definitely more glitchy than usual this year.