United Way of King County and United Ways of the Pacific Northwest strongly disagree with the White House’s reported plans to eliminate the IRS Direct File program, an electronic system that allows people to prepare their tax returns for free.

Although United Way of King County will continue to provide tax preparation services at no charge via our Free Tax Preparation campaign, we are concerned that eliminating Direct File will be detrimental to residents across Washington state and those in other states who rely on the service.

“We are alarmed that the U.S. government would even suggest this as an idea,” said United Way of King County president and CEO Gordon McHenry, Jr. “Direct File is a tool that allows people to file their taxes as easily and efficiently as possible on their own. Filing taxes is stressful and challenging for many folks. Direct File helps to make filing taxes less stressful. This is not only a bad idea but will cause harm.”

Said United Ways of the Pacific Northwest President & CEO Jim Cooper: “This unfortunate decision will bring back tax preparation deserts across the region. We have worked so hard to bring tax prep services to the table for everyone, and this is a huge setback that will reduce the wealth of families who qualify for credits and cannot file. I know we can do better as a country; our communities rely on strong partnerships with the federal government to succeed, but this is the opposite.”

Ryan McFerran, United Way of King County Program Manager, Tax Credits & Financial Stability, said that most of our Free Tax Prep sites will close for the tax season on April 19. However, locations at the Seattle Library Main Branch and Southcenter Mall in Tukwila will reopen on May 8 and remain open until the end of July. United Way will also continue its virtual Free Tax Prep site, and we encourage people to log on to myfreetaxeswa.org for other free tax preparation locations in our state.

McFerran said that though the White House’s announcement comes after April 15 Tax Day, eliminating Direct File will mean fewer options for tax filers who still have yet to file this year’s returns and for filers in years to come.

“Long-term, this is a reduction of opportunities for everyone who needs and can benefit from filing their taxes,” said McFerran. “So, there is an immediate impact because people will have fewer options to file their taxes right away. That means it is even more imperative to keep some of our tax sites open through the end of July.”

At United Way of King County, we are working side by side with communities to build an equitable future for everyone. Equity guides our work as we strive to ensure that everyone has access to resources, a quality education, enough to eat, and a safe place to call home.

United Ways of the Pacific Northwest is the regional trade association for 30 local United Ways in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. United Ways in the Pacific Northwest is committed to improving lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities to advance the common good in the areas of education, income, and health. Our mission is to advance the common good throughout the Pacific Northwest by enhancing the individual and collective ability of members of United Ways to impact their communities and collaborate on regional and statewide issues.