IR-2007-11, Jan. 16, 2007

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service and its private-sector partners today announced the opening of this year's Free File program with a series of improvements and changes to help taxpayers. The free tax preparation and free electronic filing initiative begins its fifth year with more consumer-friendly features and expanded services for Spanish-speaking taxpayers.

Seventy percent of the nation’s taxpayers — 95 million Americans — qualify for Free File. This year, up to 20 Free File Alliance companies will participate in the program run by the IRS and the Free File Alliance, a consortium of tax preparation software companies. The program is available only through IRS.gov.

“The Free File program has significant changes this year that make it an even better deal for taxpayers,” said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson. “A huge part of the taxpayer public can use these free services. Taxpayers should review the Free File offerings and see which one works best for them.”

Free File Alliance Executive Director Tim Hugo said, "This year, 95 million Americans will be eligible to participate in a Free File program that has made dramatic improvements for the taxpaying public. The Free File program is a public-private partnership at its best."

A new agreement reached last month between the IRS and the Free File Alliance means enhanced services for taxpayers this year. Among the changes and features of this year’s program:

Source: irs.gov

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