How a free tax filing experiment vanished in just one year

Today is Tax Day, but a service that allowed some Americans to file for free won't be available this year. In November of 2025, the Trump administration suspended Direct File, a service through the IRS that prepared your taxes by listing exactly how much you made and owed, and all for free. Fortune editor Catherina Gioino explains why the program came to an end—and how private companies paid millions to make it happen.