Why is FileYourTaxes.com charging for my Federal Return now? Used to be free!

But I thought the new Direct File program from the IRS was supposed to fix all this confusion? Is that available everywhere now? I remember seeing something about it being expanded for this tax season.

The IRS Direct File program has expanded for the 2025 filing season but it's still not available in all states. It's a good option if you have a simple tax situation and live in one of the participating states. The program handles basic W-2 income, standard deduction, and some tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit. However, it doesn't support all tax situations yet, so depending on your specific needs, you might still need to use a commercial tax prep service. If your return involves self-employment income, itemized deductions, or certain other tax situations, Direct File might not work for you at this point.

Does it actually file your taxes for you or just tell you where to file? Because if I have to re-enter everything anyway I'm not sure how helpful that would be.

I'm a bit skeptical about using yet another service. How does it make money if it's helping you find free filing options? Are they selling your data or something?

It doesn't file your taxes directly - it analyzes your documents first to tell you which service will actually be free for your specific situation, saving you from starting with the wrong service and wasting time. This way you only have to enter your information once at the right service. They don't sell your data - they're actually pretty transparent about their privacy policy. They make money by partnering with some of the tax services but they show you ALL your free options regardless of partnerships. They saved me from paying $89 that TurboTax tried to charge me when I qualified for completely free filing.

Wait is this for real? How does that even work? I thought everyone had to suffer through those same hold times.

Sounds too good to be true tbh. The IRS is infamous for their hold times. I've literally put my phone on speaker and done an entire workout while waiting. I can't imagine any service actually fixing that fundamental problem.

It's totally legit - they use technology that navigates the phone trees and waits on hold for you. When they reach a real person, your phone rings and you're connected directly. It's not magic, just smart technology that does the waiting for you. They can't create more IRS agents, but they make it so you don't have to sit there listening to the hold music. I was super skeptical too but after waiting 3+ hours on my own with no success, I was desperate enough to try. Got connected to a real person at the IRS in about 40 minutes (while I was doing other things).

Thanks for the suggestion! I tried contacting their customer service through the chat function but waited 45 mins with no response. I ended up calling their number and it went to voicemail saying they're experiencing "higher than normal call volume" 🙄 I'm going to try again tomorrow morning when maybe they're less busy. I just don't want to start all over with another site since I've already entered everything. It's so frustrating when they advertise free filing but then try to charge you at the last minute!

That's so frustrating! Try early morning like 8-9am Eastern time when they first open. That's when I've had the best luck getting through. Also, take screenshots of any "free filing" promotions they advertised to you, so you can reference them. One other thing - sometimes if you just leave your cart sitting there incomplete for a day or two, they'll email you a discount code to entice you to complete your filing. Might be worth trying if nothing else works!

I used it this year and it was pretty straightforward! But it only works if you have a simple return. If you have any investments, self-employment income, or need to itemize deductions, you can't use it. Also, it's still limited to certain states though they expanded the program this year.

Thanks for the info! I'll look into whether my state is included. My taxes are pretty simple - just a W-2 and student loan interest, so maybe I'll qualify. Anything to avoid these surprise fees from the commercial sites!