Dear Friend,

As your Representative, one of the top concerns I hear about is how complicated and costly it is to file taxes, and I couldn’t agree more. This is an issue I’ve been working on in Congress since 2010 when I first introduced the Autofill Act: legislation that would allow taxpayers to download a tax form automatically populated with information the IRS already collects, check it over, and submit it directly back to the IRS. 

That’s why it was great to hear that the IRS will make their free, public, online tax filing tool, Direct File, a permanent option for simplified tax returns.

A pilot Direct File program was successfully used by 12 states last tax season, and beginning next year, the IRS will allow every state to opt in to allow their taxpayers to use the program. Instead of filing your taxes through a costly third-party platform, Direct File eliminates the middleman, helps you look for tax deductions, and is easy to use online. This past tax season, 140,000 taxpayers used Direct File to claim over $90 million in tax refunds and save $5.6 million in estimated filing fees.

This first-of-its-kind tool is just one of the many IRS improvements to the taxpayer experience authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act I helped pass in 2022. Filing taxes should be easy, free, and efficient — and step by step, we're getting that done. 

If you need help working with the IRS, my office may be able to help. If you have questions, please contact my District Office at (630) 585-7672.

Sincerely,

Bill Foster
Member of Congress