New Delhi, Jan. 7 -- Taxpayers will not be able to use the IRS Direct File option in 2026 to file their taxes for free as the federal agency has killed off the option.

"IRS Direct File will not be available in Filing Season 2026. No launch date has been set for the future," an email from IRS official Cynthia Noe stated in November last year.

When the killing off of Direct File was announced in November 2025, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is also the current IRS commissioner, had said that there are "better alternatives" to Direct File. "It wasn't used very much," he said. "And we think that the private sector can do a better job."

Read on to find out some other options than Direct File, using which you can still file your taxes...