Available to lower-income residents

New York State announced this week that it will begin offering free online tax filing as of Tuesday (March 12) to people in the lowest tax brackets.

A partnership with Code for America will allow eligible residents to file their state and federal taxes online. New York is one of 12 states participating in a pilot of an IRS program called Direct File and one of three providing integrated state filing. 

After completing the federal return at directfile.irs.gov, New York residents can export their information to a state return. Those eligible to use the service will typically have income only from New York state and only from wages, Social Security benefits, unemployment benefits and/or interest and plan to claim the standard deduction.

Taxpayers whose adjusted gross income is $79,000 or less annually also may qualify for free online software. See tax.ny.gov/pit/efile.

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