Table of Contents
0524 Publ 5969 (PDF) · 2026-10-03 edition · updated 2026-10-04 · United States
Table of Contents .................................................................................................................... 1
Message from the Commissioner of the IRS ........................................................................ 2
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................ 5
Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 6
Background ........................................................................................................................... 6
What is Direct File? ............................................................................................................... 6
About this Report................................................................................................................... 7
Section I: The Direct File Pilot................................................................................................ 8
Mission .................................................................................................................................. 8
Scope and Eligibility .............................................................................................................. 9
Delivery Approach ............................................................................................................... 11
Pilot Design ......................................................................................................................... 12
Participation......................................................................................................................... 15
Section II: Technology and Taxpayer Experience .............................................................. 18
Taxpayer Opinions............................................................................................................... 18
Accuracy.............................................................................................................................. 22
Iterative Improvement.......................................................................................................... 24
Performance........................................................................................................................ 26
Security................................................................................................................................ 27
Section III: Customer Support.............................................................................................. 28
Live Chat ............................................................................................................................. 28
Test, Learn, and Iterate........................................................................................................ 31
Feedback Loops with Product ............................................................................................. 33
Customer Satisfaction.......................................................................................................... 33
Section IV: State Taxes ......................................................................................................... 35
Conceptual Overview........................................................................................................... 35
Results................................................................................................................................. 39
Section V: Cost...................................................................................................................... 41
Section VI: Next Steps .......................................................................................................... 43
Appendix I: Touchpoints Survey Results............................................................................ 45
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