Wyden blasts administration for ending Direct File free tax return filing; Oregonians still have free-filing options
Barney Lerten
WASHINGTON (KTVZ) — Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued a sharply critical statement Thursday regarding a report that the Trump administration is ending the Direct File program, which gave taxpayers a free online option for filing their taxes directly with the IRS:
“If an opportunity presents itself to stick it to working people and drive up their costs for the benefit of giant corporations, you can count on the Trump administration to seize it,” Wyden said.
“Trump and (Treasury Secretary Scott) Bessent had already gutted the team that ran the Direct File program, so the outcome of this study was predetermined and the report itself is a sham.
“I wrote the bill that created Direct File because the existing free options were insufficient and the big tax prep companies had been caught red-handed using deceptive practices to scam taxpayers into overpaying.
“The lesson is, the Trump administration is a threat to any public service that saves Americans time, hassle and money,” Wyden concluded.
The IRS notified the Oregon Department of Revenue by email on Monday that it would not continue the IRS Direct File option, state agency Public Information Officer Robin Maxey told KTVZ News Thursday.
The Oregon Department of Revenue will continue to offer Direct File Oregon as a free electronic filing option for state income tax returns in 2026, Maxey said.
Nearly 14,000 Oregon taxpayers filed their state returns with Direct File Oregon this year, including 4,700 filers who connected to Direct File Oregon after first filing their federal returns through IRS Direct File.
“Oregon still has several options for electronically filing both their federal and state income tax returns for free,” Department of Revenue Director David Gerstenfeld said. “Direct File Oregon can be used in combination with commercial software, a variety of income-based free software programs, and Free Fillable Forms, which is available to every taxpayer, regardless of their income level.
“We are committed to making it as easy as possible for people to file their taxes and to providing free ways to do that,” Gerstenfeld added.
Taxpayers who have not yet filed their tax year 2024 returns this year can use Direct File Oregon in combination with any of these federal filing options to complete their returns.