If your adjusted gross income for 2025 was $89,000 or less, you qualify to prepare and e-file your federal tax return at no cost through IRS Free File. That limit applies per return, not per person, so a married couple filing jointly measures their combined income against the same $89,000 line. The IRS raised the ceiling from $84,000 last season, which means several million more households fit under it this year.
Here is why this matters in June: Free File is not just a spring program. It stays open through the October extension deadline, so if you requested more time back in April, or you simply have not gotten around to a return you still owe, the free door is still open. Paying $100 or more for software to file a straightforward return is a cost many families never needed to take on.
What Free File actually is
Free File is a partnership between the IRS and a group of private tax-software companies. The companies agree to offer their online preparation products free of charge to taxpayers under the income limit, and the IRS hosts the front door at its Free File lookup tool. You answer a few questions about your income, age, and state, and the tool shows which partner products you can use without paying.
The software itself is the same guided, interview-style preparation you would get as a paying customer. It walks you through W-2s, interest income, common credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit, and it e-files the finished return. According to the IRS announcement for this filing season, the $89,000 limit covers 2025 returns filed during 2026.
The one catch to watch: state returns
The free guarantee applies to your federal return. Some Free File partners include a free state return, while others charge a separate fee for the state portion. The IRS lookup tool lists each company’s state policy up front, so check that line before you commit an hour to entering your information. If your state has its own free-filing portal (many do), you can always file federal through Free File and the state return directly with your state revenue agency.
One more habit worth building: get to Free File through the IRS website, not through a search engine. Companies also sell paid products with similar names, and the only versions bound by the free agreement are the ones you reach through the IRS page.
Over the income limit? Fillable Forms are free for everyone
If your 2025 income was above $89,000, you still have a no-cost option. Free File Fillable Forms are electronic versions of the paper IRS forms, available to taxpayers at any income level. They do the basic math but offer no interview, no error-checking beyond the arithmetic, and no state returns. Think of them as a clean digital pencil: fine if you are comfortable reading the instructions yourself, frustrating if you want your hand held.
For most people over the limit with a simple return, Fillable Forms work well. If your situation involves self-employment, rental property, or multiple states, weigh whether paid software or a preparer earns its fee this year.
Free human help still exists too
Software is not the only free route. The VITA and TCE programs offer free in-person preparation by IRS-certified volunteers, generally for people who earn around $67,000 or less, persons with disabilities, limited-English speakers, and taxpayers age 60 and older. Most sites wind down after the April rush, but some operate year-round, and the IRS site locator shows what is open near you. Active-duty military families also have MilTax, a free preparation and e-filing service offered through the Department of Defense regardless of income.
These options matter for extension filers who have a more tangled year, a new small business, a marketplace health insurance form, a first year of Social Security, and want a person rather than a program to ask.
What to have ready before you start
Whichever free route you take, gather the same short stack: last year’s return, W-2s and 1099s, letters showing any advance credits, Social Security numbers for everyone on the return, and your bank routing and account numbers for direct deposit. Direct deposit is the fastest way to get a refund, and it removes the risk of a paper check wandering through the mail.
If you owe tax rather than expect a refund, remember that an extension moved your filing deadline, not your payment deadline. Interest and late-payment penalties have been running since April on any unpaid balance, so filing sooner, even in June, stops the meter earlier. Free File will calculate the balance due and let you schedule an electronic payment in the same sitting.
The bottom line is simple: most American households qualify to file federal taxes without paying anyone. If your income was $89,000 or less last year, the guided software is free. If it was more, the fillable forms are free. And if you would rather sit across from a person, the volunteer sites are free. The only expensive mistake is assuming you have to pay.
