In early February 2025, claims emerged that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Elon Musk, had terminated, or planned to terminate, a program — Direct File — run by the IRS that allows (some) citizens to file individual tax returns for free:
These were misinterpretations of a Feb. 3, 2025, post made by Musk on his social media platform, X. Musk's post was made in response to a popular conservative account's post alleging that 18F, a group of software designers within the federal government's General Services Administration (GSA), had created Direct File as a program that "put the government in charge of people's tax returns":
The group he had referred to as "deleted" is 18F, which participated in designing and engineering the web-based tax filing system, not the IRS Direct File platform itself. As far as the 2025 tax season — which began on Jan 27, 2025 — is concerned, all indications are that Direct File will remain in place.
Scott Bessent, now treasury secretary, committed to maintaining the Direct File program — at least for the 2025 tax season — during his Jan 16, 2025, confirmation hearing. According to reporting from The Associated Press (not independently confirmed by Snopes as of this writing), the platform was still accepting tax returns following Musk's post:
While Musk's tweet may have intimated that the group of workers had been eliminated, an individual with knowledge of the IRS workforce said the Direct File program was still accepting tax returns. The individual spoke anonymously with The Associated Press because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
Direct File and its documentation all remain live and online at the time of this reporting, so it is erroneous to say that DOGE has blocked the ability for people to use the program presently.
Two separate issues have confused the narrative on this issue. First, politicians have, indeed, proposed the removal of Direct File, and this is something lobbyists for commercial tax preparation companies have pushed hard for, according to OpenSecrets, which tracks the influence of money in politics.
Second, the "deletion" of 18F, if factual, could be motivated by a conflict DOGE perceives with 18F, which collaborated with and does similar work to the U.S. Digital Service (USDS), the Obama-era Agency that Trump renamed to create DOGE. This dispute's direct relevance to tax policy has yet to be shown.
Snopes reached out to the General Services Administration (GSA), which houses 18F, to ask if that office is presently a part of the federal government and if their alleged removal would affect programs like Direct File, but did not receive a response. At the time of this reporting, their website is still live.
What is Direct File?
As part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act signed into law by former President Biden, the IRS was tasked with investigating the feasibility of a federal-funded free tax filing system, as reported by the AP in Oct. 2023:
The IRS was tasked with looking into how to create a "direct file" system as part of the funding it received from the Inflation Reduction Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law last summer. It gave the IRS nine months and $15 million to report on how such a program would be implemented.
The IRS published a feasibility report in May laying out taxpayer interest in direct file, how the system could work, its potential cost, operational challenges and more.
They found that there was significant interest in the program, and began work to expand it. A pilot trial of 12 states was used for the 2024 tax season. On Jan. 10, 2025, the IRS announced that Direct File would expand to 25 states for 2025. As described in an IRS communication from May 2024, the U.S. Digital Service and 18F worked together on Direct File:
This effort was not done by the IRS alone. We worked closely with partners from the U.S. Digital Service and GSA's 18F, as well as private sector partners, who all brought critical agile technology expertise. They worked side by side in a team room at IRS headquarters, which was inspiring to visit and see the energy, excitement, and different parts of the government working closely together.
The U.S. Digital Service, DOGE and 18F
The U.S. Digital Service, part of the executive branch, was the name of the office that Trump renamed as the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, in a Jan. 20, 2025, executive order. On a Biden-era version of the website, that office described itself this way:
Millions of people use federal government services every day. Veterans apply for health care. Immigrants apply for naturalization. Too often, outdated tools and complex systems make these interactions cumbersome and frustrating.
To improve these services, USDS hires mission-driven professionals into term-limited 'tours of civic service.' By working alongside civil servants, they help address some of the most critical needs.
18F employs software engineers and designers for government projects on a more permanent basis. It is named after the location of its office on 1800 F street in D.C. 18F still has a live website at the time of this reporting. It describes itself this way:
As federal employees, we don't have conflicts of interest, just dedication to your mission. Together with our government agency partners, we deliver projects that stay within budget and improve their technology.
Supporters of Trump and Musk, including the person whose post Musk elevated, allege that employees of 18F were too "woke" and therefore needed to be removed from government. This argument was also proffered by former Robert F. Kennedy Jr. running mate and now Trump supporter Nicole Shanahan, calling the office "Woke DOGE":
The Bottom Line
Outside of having 18F's official X account deleted, it is unclear at the time of this reporting if Musk affected any real world "deletion" of 18F, its office, or its employees. Their removal, if real, is not necessarily the end of Direct File, however. That program, by all present indicators, will continue as planned, at least in 2025.