Senator Casey urged IRS to expand free Direct Filing tax options to PA 

Direct File is a new online platform offered by IRS to allow free, secure, and easy to use tax filing 

Casey voted for law that created Direct File program, pushed for it to be made available to as many Americans as possible

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) announced the permanent expansion of the Direct File tax program to Pennsylvania. This will give Pennsylvanians the option to file their taxes directly with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) online for free, as opposed to filing through a third party that often charges fees. Senator Casey called for the program’s permanent implementation and expansion after the IRS successfully launched the Direct File Pilot Program in 12 states. The program could save Pennsylvanians a total of $630 million in combined annual tax filing fees and additional tax credits claimed directly from the IRS. 

“The numbers don’t lie: Direct File is a game-changing, commonsense program that enables Americans to do their taxes easily, securely, and affordably. Thanks to this program, Americans can confidently file their taxes and keep more of their hard-earned dollars,” said Senator Casey. “I fought to expand Direct File to our state to put more dollars back in Pennsylvanians’ pockets and to lower costs for Pennsylvania families.” 

Senator Casey has long pushed for the IRS to make tax filing easy, simple, and secure for all Pennsylvania taxpayers, including by voting for the Direct File program and pushing for it to be implemented. In 2022, Senator Casey voted for the Inflation Reduction Act, which provided the IRS with funding to improve customer service and study and implement this Direct File Pilot Program.

Casey applauded the announcement of the Direct File program, and pushed for it to be implemented as soon as possible. The program was successfully piloted in 12 states and saw 140,000 taxpayers claim more than $90 million in refunds and save an estimated $5.6 million in filing costs. A survey of 11,000 users found that 90 percent ranked their experience with Direct File as “Excellent” or “Above Average,” and 90 percent of survey respondents who used customer service similarly found the experience “Excellent” or “Above Average.” After seeing the success of the Direct File Pilot Program, Senator Casey urged the IRS to expand the program to Pennsylvania. Casey joined 130 of his congressional colleagues to call on the Biden Administration to make Direct File permanent and expand its functionality to all 50 states.

Direct File is a tax filing option that allows taxpayers to file their taxes directly to the IRS through a free, secure, and easy to use online portal. The IRS has long allowed Americans to file their taxes for free using paper forms, but has not previously offered an online, modern tax filing portal like is available for other financial products and services. The Direct File program could save Pennsylvanians up to $311 million annually in tax filing fees and help claim taxpayers up to $319 million in additional tax credits. Direct Filing will be available to all taxpayers with simple returns in the 12 pilot states, plus additional states like Pennsylvania for the 2025 tax season.

Information provided to TVL by:
Natalie Adams