You are confusing two different (but related) things. The Free File Allowance is intended for lower-income individuals to e-file for free. (Some tax service pr

You are confusing two different (but related) things. The Free File Allowance is intended for lower-income individuals to e-file for free. (Some tax service providers still participate.) The IRS withdrew from the agreement preventing them from providing their own such software to low-income taxpayers, but it's a moot point since they don't have the resources to create such software. What the parent commenter was referring to was the EU-style tax systems, where they send you a pre-filled in tax return, you verify the amounts and sign, with minimal input/preparation required by the taxpayer. That is what the IRS is prevented from doing, by law, as a result of Intuit's lobbying.