The money the IRS spends on tax collection, enforcement and services pulls in much more revenue to fund government operations.
The tax prep industry opposes the service.
Taxpayers told Marketplace they were satisfied with the service, and were able to save money this year.
The new program, called Direct File, has been rolled out in a dozen states. But how does it stack up to private tax-filing software?
The Treasury Department found that that third-party vendors were directing users to paid products.
The idea has been thrown around for a while now, but new IRS funding may help it become a reality.
The delay provides more time for both taxpayers and the IRS, given the pressure of the pandemic.
For a lot of people, the last year has been weird, from a tax standpoint.
Because so many people worked from home this year, some taxpayers may have to do more research and paperwork.
The tax prep industry, including companies like TurboTax, was essentially hiding free filing software, Justin Elliott of ProPublica says.
