You can file your federal and state taxes for free if your 2025 adjusted gross income was $89,000 or less, using IRS Free File guided software at IRS.gov/freefile.1Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Tax Filing Season Opens With Several Free Filing Options Available If you earned more than that, Free File Fillable Forms has no income limit, and separate free programs cover military families, seniors, people with disabilities, and anyone who wants an IRS-certified volunteer to prepare the return in person. The federal deadline for tax year 2025 is April 15, 2026.
Which Free Program Fits You
Five free options run in parallel. Pick the one that matches your income, age, or service status.
- If your adjusted gross income was $89,000 or less, use IRS Free File guided software. Eight private companies partner with the IRS for the 2026 season, and each sets its own additional limits by age, state, or military status.1Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Tax Filing Season Opens With Several Free Filing Options Available
- If you earned more than $89,000, use Free File Fillable Forms. There is no income cap, but the system gives minimal guidance and does not prepare state returns.2Internal Revenue Service. Free File Fillable Forms Program Limitations and Available Forms
- If you generally earn $69,000 or less, have a disability, or speak limited English, VITA volunteers will prepare and file the return for you.3Internal Revenue Service. Free Tax Return Preparation for Qualifying Taxpayers
- If you are 60 or older, Tax Counseling for the Elderly offers the same in-person help with a focus on pension and retirement income.4Internal Revenue Service. Tax Counseling for the Elderly
- If you are active-duty military, a qualifying veteran, or a family member, MilTax covers a federal return plus up to five state returns, with no income limit and built-in support for combat pay and multi-state residency.5Military OneSource. MilTax Free Tax Filing Software and Support
These programs overlap. A 62-year-old retiree earning $55,000 qualifies for Free File, VITA, and TCE all at once, and can simply pick the one that feels easiest.
Getting Started With Each Option
Guided Software Through IRS Free File
Begin at IRS.gov/freefile. The IRS lookup shows which of the eight providers accept your income, age, and state; from there you leave the IRS site and complete the return inside the provider’s software.6Internal Revenue Service. File Your Taxes for Free Going directly to a company’s site instead of starting at IRS.gov can land you in a paid product that looks similar. Some providers prepare your state return for free as well, others don’t, so read each offer before you commit. Switching providers mid-return means starting over.
Free File Fillable Forms
Fillable Forms is the electronic version of paper filing. It does the arithmetic but won’t flag missed deductions or suggest credits. It supports a wide range of federal schedules, including Schedule C for self-employment and Schedule D for capital gains.2Internal Revenue Service. Free File Fillable Forms Program Limitations and Available Forms There is no state return option, so plan to use your state tax agency’s own portal for that side.
In-Person Help at a VITA or TCE Site
VITA and TCE volunteers work out of libraries, community centers, and schools during filing season. Find the nearest site with the locator on IRS.gov or by calling 800-906-9887, then bring every income document, your ID, and last year’s return to the appointment. The volunteer prepares and e-files the return while you sit with them.3Internal Revenue Service. Free Tax Return Preparation for Qualifying Taxpayers
Filing the State Return
Whether the state return is free depends on the route you took. Some IRS Free File partners bundle a state return; others charge for it.1Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Tax Filing Season Opens With Several Free Filing Options Available Nine states have no income tax, so residents there only file federal. Everyone else should check the state tax agency’s own site for a free e-file tool before paying for one.
What to Have Ready Before You Start
Pull everything together before opening the software. Stopping mid-return to hunt for a form is where mistakes happen.
Identification and Signing Credentials
You need a Social Security number or ITIN for yourself, your spouse if filing jointly, and every dependent. Some credits, including the Child Tax Credit, require a Social Security number and won’t work with an ITIN.
To sign electronically, the IRS wants either your prior-year adjusted gross income or your prior-year self-select PIN. An Identity Protection PIN replaces both.7Internal Revenue Service. Validating Your Electronically Filed Tax Return Prior-year AGI sits on line 11 of last year’s Form 1040, or you can pull it from your IRS online account.
Income Forms
Employers issue Form W-2 for wages.8Internal Revenue Service. About Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement Freelance and contract work generally shows up on Form 1099-NEC when the payer sent you $600 or more.9Internal Revenue Service. Form 1099 NEC and Independent Contractors Bank interest arrives on Form 1099-INT,10Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1099-INT, Interest Income and unemployment or state refund payments on Form 1099-G.11Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1099-G, Certain Government Payments Income is taxable whether or not a form arrives, so a $400 cash side job still counts.
Health Coverage and Digital Assets
If anyone in the household bought coverage on the Health Insurance Marketplace, Form 1095-A will arrive by mail. You need it to reconcile the premium tax credit on Form 8962, which files with the return; skipping this step can delay the refund or trigger a notice.12Internal Revenue Service. Health Insurance Marketplace Statements
Every federal return now asks about digital assets. If you received, sold, exchanged, or otherwise disposed of cryptocurrency or other digital assets during 2025, answer “yes” and report the activity, even if you had a loss.13Internal Revenue Service. Digital Assets
Bank Details for Direct Deposit
Have your routing and account numbers ready. Direct deposit is the fastest way to get a refund and the IRS doesn’t charge for it. Skip it and the refund arrives by paper check, which takes considerably longer.
Deadlines and Extensions
The federal deadline for tax year 2025 returns is April 15, 2026.14Internal Revenue Service. IRS Opens 2026 Filing Season If you can’t finish by then, Form 4868 buys an automatic six-month extension to October 15, 2026.15Internal Revenue Service. Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File
The catch trips a lot of people up. An extension gives you more time to file, not more time to pay. Any tax owed is still due April 15, and interest plus late-payment penalties start running April 16 on the unpaid balance.16Internal Revenue Service. Get an Extension to File Your Tax Return If you think you’ll owe, estimate the amount and send a payment with the extension request.
Most states line up with the federal date, but not all. Confirm on your state agency’s site.
Signing, Submitting, and Tracking Your Refund
When the software finishes computing, it shows a summary. Read it carefully. The common errors are transposed Social Security digits, mismatched W-2 amounts, and forgotten 1099s from small bank accounts.
Signing means entering your prior-year AGI, prior-year self-select PIN, or Identity Protection PIN.7Internal Revenue Service. Validating Your Electronically Filed Tax Return That electronic signature carries the same legal weight as ink. Submitting usually transmits federal and state together, and the IRS returns an acceptance or rejection notice within 24 to 48 hours.17Internal Revenue Service. Help With Transmitting a Return The most common rejection reason is a Social Security number that has already appeared on another return, which can be a sign of identity theft.
Track the refund with the “Where’s My Refund?” tool on IRS.gov, which updates 24 hours after e-filing. You’ll need your Social Security number, filing status, and exact refund amount.18Internal Revenue Service. Refunds Most refunds land within 21 days when you e-file with direct deposit. Returns claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit are held until mid-February by law.
If You File Late or Make a Mistake
Filing late costs far more than paying late, which is why filing on time matters even when you can’t pay in full.
- The late-filing penalty is 5% of unpaid tax per month or partial month, up to 25%.19Internal Revenue Service. Failure to File Penalty
- The late-payment penalty is 0.5% per month, also capped at 25%. On an approved payment plan the rate drops to 0.25%.20Internal Revenue Service. Failure to Pay Penalty
- Interest compounds daily. The rate for individual underpayments is 7% per year as of early 2026.21Internal Revenue Service. Interest Rates Remain the Same for the First Quarter of 2026
When both timing penalties apply in the same month, the filing penalty is reduced by the payment penalty, so the combined charge is 5% per month rather than 5.5%. Separate accuracy penalties can also apply: 20% of an underpayment caused by negligence or substantial understatement,22Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6662 and 75% of the portion attributed to fraud.23Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6663
Caught an error after filing? File Form 1040-X to amend. Most tax software can e-file amended returns for the current year and the two prior years, but if the original was paper, the amendment must be paper too.24Internal Revenue Service. Amended Returns To claim a refund on an amended return, file within three years of the original filing or two years of paying the tax, whichever is later.25Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1040-X Processing typically runs 8 to 12 weeks and can stretch to 16.26Internal Revenue Service. Form 1040-X Frequently Asked Questions