Tax season 2025: where to find help

Tax season is here, and people have questions. Where to file? How to file? Can I file online? For free? For those answers, always start with the official IRS website at irs.gov.

Looking for tax preparation and filing services? Here’s what to do.

• Check out free options to file your taxes offered by the IRS.
  • If you live in one of the 25 eligible states, you may be able to use the IRS’s Direct File program to file your federal taxes directly with the IRS. Direct File is free in those states and the software will guide you through completing your federal tax return.
  • If your 2024 adjusted gross income was $84,000 or less, you qualify for the IRS Free File program, a free guided tax preparation software for your federal taxes. Use this tool to find which free software is available to you, based on your income and situation. Depending on your income and which IRS partner site you use, you might be able to prepare and file your state taxes for free too.
• Use the IRS Free File Fillable Forms if your 2024 adjusted gross income was more than $84,000. But these forms are an online version of the IRS paper forms, so you won’t get guided software. For your state tax return, go to the website for your state’s tax agency.
• Check out MilTax if you’re a service member or veteran. If your income is too high for the IRS Free File Program, there’s another free option for you. There’s no income limit for the Department of Defense’s free filing program, but there are some eligibility requirements.
• Look into the details. If a company advertises free tax preparation services, ask what qualifications you’ll have to meet for it to be free. Do you qualify?