Ah, tax season. 💰 Also known as: time to pay Turbo Tax to avoid complicated government paperwork gymnastics! 🤸 #unfair
But…a 🆓 solution is on the way for PA!
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Governor Josh Shapiro just announced PA will soon get on board with Direct File, the IRS's free electronic tax-filing system. ✅
Here’s Five Fast Facts on Direct File for PA taxpayers:
- 🪽 Free as a Bird - The Direct File program allows taxpayers to file online directly with the IRS for free. The goal of the program is to offer an easier and cheaper alternative than paid tax-prep services like TurboTax and H&R Block.
- ✈️ Your Pilot Speaking - Direct File just wrapped up a pilot program and Yellen reported some promising results. By the final week of the program, the new tax agency was able to process over 5,000 accepted returns per day from over 140,000 taxpayers.
- 💸 Super Savings - Yellen also said that Direct File saved taxpayers $5.6 million in federal filing fees (yippee)! An additional $90 million was issued in refunds and 90% of survey respondents rated their overall experience with the service excellent or above average.
- 🧑💻 Filing Fun - Each year, Americans spend around $11 billion on tax preparation services, accountants and similar services to get their returns in on time. According to the U.S. Department of Treasury, Americans spend an average of $270 and 13 hours filing their taxes.
- 👀 Coming Soon - Right now, Direct File is only available for those who live in one of the 12 pilot program states. In 2025, at least 1.5 million Pennsylvanians will be eligible to use the tool.
🔥Bottom line: While you’re waiting for your turn to use Direct File, you should see if your old employer owes you any sneaky money. According to a recent analysis, 260 PA companies owe 9,000 workers some cash! Read more about that here.
Will you try Direct File?
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