The past and future of public tax preparation

This year, the IRS rolled out a new program that could be a gamechanger for tax preparation: Direct File, a free public alternative to commercial tax preparation software. The roll out is the latest in a long series of efforts to make tax preparation free, simple and public. What can those earlier efforts tell us about the future of Direct File? How did the pilot fare this year, and how could the program be expanded and improved? And would making tax preparation a public service change public attitudes about taxpaying?  

On April 12, Governance Studies at Brookings held a virtual event with Senior Fellow Vanessa Williamson and a panel of experts to discuss the past and future of public tax preparation. 

Viewers submitted questions for speakers by emailing [email protected] or via X (formerly Twitter) at @BrookingsGov by using #PublicTaxPreparation.