State Free-File Programs: Free State Returns That Often Get Overlooked

Most states with a personal income tax run a free state e-file program for residents. The programs are easy to miss because the IRS Free File portal advertises only federal returns and only some partners cover the state return free of charge. A senior who finishes a federal return through Free File, then learns that the same partner charges 30 dollars for the state return, can pause, save the federal return as a PDF, and finish the state return on the state government website at no cost. The state-level free programs are run by the state revenue department, sometimes under names such as Direct File, MyTax, Free Fillable Forms, or Free File Alliance. And they cover the same forms the state would mail in a paper booklet. Combined federal Free File and state direct-file can save a senior household 30 to 80 dollars per season compared with a paid product.

The nine states with no personal income tax do not run a free state program because there is nothing to file. Those states are Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. New Hampshire taxes only interest and dividends and has phased that out, so most retirees there file nothing. Every other state with a tax runs at least one free e-file path for residents whose returns are not too complex. California offers CalFile. New York offers Direct File and Free File Alliance partners. Pennsylvania offers myPATH. Ohio offers OH-TAX. Michigan offers MIFastFile. The full list lives on each state's department of revenue or department of taxation website, usually with the words Free File or e-File File for Free in the navigation.

A federal pilot called IRS Direct File launched in 12 states in 2024, expanded to 25 states in 2025, and is expected to keep growing. Direct File is a free, government-run federal product, not a state product. But it includes one-click handoffs to participating state free-file systems in many states. A senior in a Direct File state can complete a federal return on IRS.gov and then transfer the data to the state product with no retyping. Direct File supports W-2 wages, Social Security, interest income, unemployment, and several common credits, and the supported scope expands every year. Source pages include directfile.irs.gov, the state department of revenue website for each state, and the IRS State Government Web Sites index at irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/state-government-websites.