I’ve been using IRS Direct File for a number of years, after “free file” from other sources decided to exclude 1099s. This year, IRS Direct File has likewise stopped accepting the stack of 1099-MISCs* that I and all freelancers/gig workers have.
If you find it worthwhile to pay to file your taxes, carry on as you were.
If, like me, you’re on the edge of unleashing violence upon the next corporate asshole who reaches into your pocket to remove money for a “service**” that has been and should be free, you’ll have to either print or order forms (at no cost to you) and mail them like it’s 1925.
FEEL THE EFFICIENCY!
ETA: I ordered forms on February 24 and received them on March 15, a total of 19 days to process and transit. Plan accordingly.
Particularly given that the USPS is now in more destructive hands than Louis DeJoy’s, you should allow for long transit times if ordering paper forms and instructions. Also, although your return only has to be postmarked by April 15, I would not take it for granted that your outgoing mail won’t sit in a bin for several days waiting to be processed. Send it off early.
UPDATE: As of April 17, Direct File is dead for everyone, thanks to bloodsucking corporate tax preparers and the corruption crew running the government. I will file on paper, annually and quarterly, for the rest of my life rather than give one cent to Intuit, H&R Block, or any entity in their club.
*Most other 1099s are fine. This is a specific “fuck you” to freelancers/gig workers, who are already marginalized for not having a “real” job, get no benefits, and pay double taxes because we cover our own SS and Medicare. We, specifically, have been selected to shell out money to file 3 forms electronically. The do-nothing shareholders will be so happy!
**It shouldn’t even be a service. Every tax document you receive is a courtesy copy of information sent directly to the IRS. They already have all your information. In other countries, the tax office just sends people a notice that they owe, don’t owe, or will be getting a refund, no convoluted paperwork required. But here in the US of A, our politicians own stock in and take bribes campaign contributions from multibillion-dollar “tax prep” corporations, so taxpayers must be shoved into that money-extraction mechanism.