Approximately one-third of Arizona taxpayers are eligible to participate in pilot program

March 6, 2024

SAN ANTONIO – The IRS announced that starting today, Direct File is available 24-7 in the 12 states that are part of the pilot program. All eligible taxpayers in Arizona can now file their taxes online, for free, directly with the IRS using IRS Direct file. Interested taxpayers should first check their eligibility by visiting the Direct File website.

Direct File is a mobile-friendly, interview-based service that will work as well on a mobile phone as it does on a laptop, tablet or desktop computer. Taxpayers can also get their refund in as few as 14 days when using IRS Direct File.

People in 12 states, including Arizona, are eligible to participate in the 2024 Direct File pilot and will be limited to taxpayers with certain types of income, credits and deductions – taxpayers with relatively simple returns. This new service is available until the tax filing deadline of April 15, 2024.

“Direct File is a great new resource and additional option for Arizona state taxpayers to use to file their federal tax return. And most importantly, it’s free,” said IRS spokesperson Yviand Serbones-Hernandez. “We’ve gotten great initial feedback from the thousands of taxpayers who used it during testing. Many filed in less than 30 minutes.”

Customer service

Taxpayers participating in the pilot can get help from IRS employees staffing the Direct File customer support function with live chat access. IRS customer service representatives can provide technical support and provide basic clarification of tax law related to the tax scope of Direct File. Questions related to issues other than Direct File will be routed to other IRS customer support, as appropriate.

Taxpayer Eligibility

Eligibility to participate in the Direct File pilot is limited to reporting only certain types of income and claiming limited credits and adjustments. It includes:

Income reporting

• W-2 wage income
• Social Security and railroad retirement income
• Unemployment compensation
• Interest of $1,500 or less

Credits

• Earned Income Tax Credit
• Child Tax Credit
• Credit for Other Dependents

Deductions

• Standard deduction
• Student loan interest
• Educator expenses

A new electronic filing option

Direct File does not replace existing filing options like tax professionals, IRS Free File, free return preparation sites, commercial software or authorized e-file providers. Taxpayers will continue to have choices, whether they want to use a tax professional, a software product, Free File, free tax preparation services like Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) as well as a paper tax return or Direct File.

Additional resources:

For more information about Direct File, check out the resources below:

• IRS Direct File Pilot Overview – YouTube
• Direct File | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov)
• Direct File pilot news | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov)
• A closer look at the IRS Direct File pilot | Internal Revenue Service
• IRS Direct File Update: Free, secure, IRS-run, electronic filing option on track to be available in 2024 as a limited pilot | Internal Revenue Service