Taxpayers in the state of Wisconsin will be able to file their federal and state income tax returns directly online for free next year, the state’s tax office announced Wednesday.

The IRS has launched the free Direct File program as a pilot in 12 states this year and is Introduction at national level for the 2025 tax filing season, subject to voluntary participation by each state.

In the program’s first year, Direct File saved taxpayers who used the system an estimated $5.6 million in tax preparation fees, according to the IRS. Participating taxpayers received more than $90 million in income tax refunds.

Wisconsin’s participation next year will allow taxpayers to file both their state and federal tax returns online, starting with the Direct File portal the IRS provides for federal tax returns and then moving to a new WisTax portal the Wisconsin Department of Revenue is setting up.

“We are excited about both WisTax and the Direct File program because they provide Wisconsin taxpayers with an enhanced customer experience that is free, accurate and easy to use,” David Casey, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Taxation, said in a statement Wednesday.

Governor Tony Evers welcomed the introduction of Direct File in a press release.

“This will save hard-working people time and money, and we look forward to seeing how the Direct File and new WisTax programs will work together to better serve Wisconsin residents in the 2025 tax season,” Evers said.

While taxpayers have been able to file their tax returns online for years, a direct portal for filing has not been readily available. A portal was proposed and implemented during the administration of former President George W. Bush, but was criticized as difficult to use.

Direct, free and user-friendly online filing was blocked for two decades as part of a lobbying campaign by the tax consulting industry ProPublica reported in 2017. Former University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor Don Moynihan also wrote a report about how the original free filing program stalled.

Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) has presented a draft law in 2022 to allow free direct online filing. The proposal was subsequently included in the Inflation Reduction Act 2022.

“Filing your tax return should be easy and free, but right now the system is rigged to line the pockets of giant outside tax preparation firms, and Wisconsin residents waste hours and hundreds of dollars every year,” Baldwin said Wednesday in an announcement that Wisconsin would join the program. “I voted for the Inflation Mitigation Act to put money back in the pockets of hard-working families, not to pad the profits of these big outside firms that charge exorbitant junk fees.”