IRS FreeFile Programs Are Available Until October 15th

If you still haven’t filed your 2020 IRS return, you have until the end of October 15 to file the return electronically for free. The IRS FreeFile program will be shut down for the season after that. You can access FreeFile here: https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free.  For more information on FreeFile and the October 15 deadline, go here: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-free-file-program-available-through-oct-15

If you didn’t have income to report in 2020 but still need to claim the monthly Child Tax Credit (CTC) payments and/or to get stimulus payments you missed out on, you can claim those using the free GetCTC tool https://www.getctc.org/en.  The deadline to use GetCTC is November 15th.

If for some reason you can’t file by these deadlines, you’ll have to either mail in a paper tax return, go to a paid preparer​, or buy software to e-file yourself. The IRS will stop accepting all electronic returns in November this year.  After that, the only free option for 2020 returns will be VITA sites that will open early next year.