Boston Globe: "IRS will offer a new option to file your tax return in 13 states — and Massachusetts is one of them"

"In 2024, some taxpayers will have for the first time a new filing option that many advocates have been demanding for years: A free tax preparation software program, like TurboTax or its competitors, created by the IRS.

For its first filing season, the program, Direct File, will be available in only 13 states and won’t be suitable for all taxpayers, the IRS announced on Tuesday. If you want to be one of the first to try it out, you’ll need a special invitation.

Selected taxpayers will get invitations around mid-February, an IRS official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the program before Tuesday’s announcement.

If all goes well with those early filers, the official said, the program will gradually open up to more users. By the time of the tax filing deadline in April, the IRS’s goal is that the program will be open to anyone who wants to use it in the 13 eligible states. The IRS said in an email Tuesday that the agency anticipates hundreds of thousands of users."

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https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/10/17/business/irs-offer-new-option-file-your-tax-return/ 

Read the IRS press release, no subscription required

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-advances-innovative-direct-file-project-for-2024-tax-season-free-irs-run-pilot-option-projected-to-be-available-for-eligible-taxpayers-in-13-states

The IRS plans to invite a select group of taxpayers across 13 states to try out the agency’s pilot electronic free file tax return system, beginning this January.PATRICK SEMANSKY/ASSOCIATED PRESS