Governor Kathy Hochul announced that New York State will partner with Code for America on a first direct filing tool to help eligible New Yorkers electronically file their taxes with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance for free
Article continues below
The announcement follows an update from the Internal Revenue Service that New York, as well as Arizona, California, and Massachusetts, will integrate state e filing tools with the IRS’ federal e filing tool as part of a limited, scaled pilot, beginning in 2024.
New York filing software in 2024 will be built by Code for America, the civic tech nonprofit that works with community leaders and governments to build equitable, accessible digital tools and services.
Once implemented, eligible New Yorkers will be able to jointly e file their state and federal tax returns with state and federal tax authorities for free, without the use of tax preparers, promoting better and more equitable access to tax refunds – particularly for low income families and making the tax filing process easier than ever.
New York’s partnership with Code for America represents a promising new approach to streamlining state tax filing, building on the state’s leading work to modernize state tax infrastructure.
The partnership builds on Governor Hochul’s 2023 State of the State commitment to making government work better for New Yorkers by improving access to essential government benefits and services.
The New York Department of Taxation and Finance will work in close coordination with Code for America’s team of experts to develop the state e filing tool’s scope, software, and capabilities.
Consistent with plans laid out by the IRS, eligible taxpayers will have the option to share their federal return information with third party state filing software after they have finished their federal returns using Direct File.
In New York, Direct File users will be able to share their federal information with the filing tool built by Code for America. Code for America will prepare most of the state return using the federal return data, and most taxpayers will have to answer no more than a few simple questions to complete their New York tax return.
Existing options for free file services for low income New Yorkers remain in place. ■