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NJ will join IRS Direct File income tax program

By: Katie Sobko
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... New Jersey is joining the Direct File tax program introduced by the Internal Revenue Service for the 2025 tax season.
..... Governor Phil Murphy and U.S. Department of the Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo announced Wednesday [07/24/2024] afternoon that New Jersey taxpayers would be eligible to sue the program form the outset of the 2025 filing season.
..... "Government is supposed to make life easier not harder," Murphy said. "For too long our outdated process for a filing taxes have cerated unnecessary difficulties for too many families."
..... The governor said that more than 1 million New Jersey residents - possibly as many as 1.3 million - will have those free option.
..... It will be available for those filing simple tax forms for both federal and state taxes Online and will assist with claims for credits, deductions and refunds that residents are eligible for.
..... The program was intruded for the 2024 filing season as a pilot program 12 states - the Garden State was not included at that time. More than 140,000 individuals throughout the country use the program.
..... The agency estimates it assisted users in claiming more than $90 million in refunds and saved an estimated $5.6 billion in filing costs.
..... Adeyemo said Direct File is "meant to do two of the most important things that we can, make life as easy for the American people and also lower their costs to make sure they have money to put in the pockets of their children."
..... Since the feedback the IRS received was positive and the pilot program was deemed success, the agency is now expanding the program to include more tax situations and all states to participate.
..... The pilot program focused on what the agency described as "relatively simple tax situations" but expanding the scope is a goal, especially those that "impact working families."
..... The free program is considered an alternative as opposed to a replacement for free programs that already exist.

..... Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@northjersey.com.

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