Marylander lawmakers announce plan to make filing taxes simpler in 2025

ANNAPOLIS -- The average American spends more than ten hours and more than $110 filing a tax return, according to the IRS.  

But on Wednesday, Comptroller Brooke Lierman, Governor Wes Moore, and U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo announced an initiative that will make the process much simpler and more affordable for hundreds of thousands of Marylanders in 2025. 

Starting this upcoming tax filing season, eligible Marylanders will be able to file for free. 

"Taxes are a part of the glue that keeps our state and our nation together…. And yet in America, we make it uniquely challenging to pay those taxes and file a return, until now," Comptroller Brooke Lierman said. 

On Wednesday, Lierman announced Maryland will partner with the IRS in 2025 to allow Marylanders to file their taxes through the IRS direct file system. 

The initiative aims to modernize the tax system and reduce the amount of time and money the average Marylander spends filing a tax return. 

Moore announced the new system has been tested and is an easy-to-use online tool that is sponsored by the IRS. 

Direct file is the new, free service from the IRS allowing eligible taxpayers to prepare and file their tax returns online. 

The service was established through a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act requiring the IRS to explore the feasibility of a public online filing service. 

Maryland is now one of 25 states participating. 

"Frankly, by being able to use direct file, it means that you are going to get your tax refund far faster. And it's going to mean that you working-class and middle-class Americans are going to have a program that's going to help you understand the tax refunds that you're eligible for," U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo proclaimed. 

Eligibility requirements will be set this fall, but you should be able to use the service as long as most of your income comes from a W-2.