File Your Taxes Free: Which Option Is Really Free for You
Millions of Americans pay $60 to $150 for a tax return they were entitled to file for nothing. The programme exists — the problem is that each of its 8 partners adds its own rules on top, and that is where people end up paying. Here is which ones take you.
- IRS income ceiling
- $89,000
- partners may cut it, never raise it
- State return free everywhere
- 2 of 8
- OLT.com · FreeTaxUSA
- Have an income floor
- 3 partners
- earn too little and you are out
- Age limits
- TaxSlayer, TaxAct, FileYourTaxes.com, ezTaxReturn.com
- undefined–67 only
Which ones are actually free for you?
Every partner adds its own rules on top of the IRS ones. This runs on your phone — what you type never leaves it.
Rules read on the IRS Free File page and on each partner's own terms. Partners change them every season, so check before you file — and if one asks you to pay after saying free, back out and try another from this list.
The 8 IRS Free File partners, rule by rule
The federal return is free with every partner inside its own limits. What differs is the limits — and the state return.
| Partner | Federal free up to | Income floor | Age | State return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OLT.com | $51,000 | — | Any | Free everywhere |
| FreeTaxUSA | $51,000 | — | Any | Free everywhere |
| TaxSlayer | $89,000 | $19,000 | –67 | Free in 22 states, else $39.99 |
| 1040.com | $89,000 | $18,100 | Any | Free in 19 states, else $25 |
| TaxAct | $89,000 | — | 20–60 | Free in 9 states, else $39.99 |
| FileYourTaxes.com | $89,000 | $9,500 | –64 | Free in 4 states, else $50 |
| 1040NOW.NET | $82,000 | — | Any | $24.95 always |
| ezTaxReturn.com | $89,000 | — | 17–85 | $44.99 always |
The three traps, in the numbers
The state return. Only 2 of the 8 partners do your state return free wherever you live — OLT.com and FreeTaxUSA — and both cut the income ceiling to $51,000 to do it. 2 charge for the state return always, whatever you earn. The rest are free in some states and not others, from four states to twenty-two.
The income floor. 3 partners have a minimum income: earning too little disqualifies you. TaxSlayer starts at $19,000, 1040.com starts at $18,100, FileYourTaxes.com starts at $9,500. The people this excludes are the ones who can least afford the alternative.
The age window. TaxSlayer only accepts filers between undefined and 67; TaxAct only accepts filers between 20 and 60; FileYourTaxes.com only accepts filers between undefined and 64; ezTaxReturn.com only accepts filers between 17 and 85. Under or over, whatever you earn, it will not do it free.
If none of them take you
| Option | Who it is for | What you get | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free File Fillable Forms | Anyone — no income limit | The paper forms on a screen: it does the arithmetic and nothing else | Free |
| VITA | Roughly $69,000 or less, disabilities, limited English | An IRS-certified volunteer prepares it with you, in person | Free |
| TCE / AARP Tax-Aide | Anyone 60 or over | The same, specialising in pensions and retirement, January to April | Free |
Is IRS Free File actually free?
The federal return is, if you qualify. The catch is everything else. The IRS sets the ceiling at $89,000, but each partner is allowed to set its own rules on top — and they do. Two partners cut the ceiling to $51,000. Three have an income FLOOR, so earning too little disqualifies you. One only accepts filers aged 20 to 60. And six of the eight charge for your state return, between $9.95 and $50.
Why does TurboTax keep asking me to pay?
Because the free product you reached from a search is usually the company's own free tier, which is not the IRS Free File programme and has much tighter limits. The IRS route is reached through irs.gov, not through the company's home page. If you started somewhere else and got asked for money halfway, you can stop, go back to the IRS page and start again free.
I earn too much for Free File. Is there anything?
Free File Fillable Forms — no income limit at all, and free. The trade-off is that it is the paper forms on a screen: it does the arithmetic and nothing else. If your return is simple, it is a genuine option that costs nothing.
Can someone just do it for me, free?
Yes, in person, and almost nobody uses it. VITA does free tax preparation for people making roughly $69,000 or less, people with disabilities and people with limited English — call 800-906-9887. TCE and AARP Tax-Aide do the same for anyone 60 or over, specialising in pensions and retirement, from January to April on 888-227-7669. These are IRS-certified volunteers, not a sales funnel.
What happened to IRS Direct File?
It is gone. We checked on 10 September 2026: the IRS page for it returns a 404, and the "File your taxes for free" page no longer mentions it. Any guide still telling you to use Direct File is out of date. What remains is IRS Free File, Free File Fillable Forms, and the in-person volunteer programmes.
How we check this
- The partner list comes from the IRS's own Browse All Offers page, and every rule from that partner's own terms.
- The state lists are written by hand. We tried extracting them automatically and it confused the states a partner supports with the states it does free — telling someone their state is free when it is not costs them money.
- Where the IRS and a partner disagree, we show both and take the worse one. TaxSlayer is listed by the IRS as free in all states while its own terms name 22; we show the 22.
- We do not recommend a partner. We describe what each charges and who it turns away.
- The page itself is assembled automatically from what we recorded for each partner; the reading and checking is done by people against the partner's own terms, and the page shows its check date.
Partners change these rules every season. Last review Sep 10, 2026; we re-read every partner's terms before each filing season.
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