psa for usamericans [OUTDATED]
if you live in any of the states below: the tax filing resource you should be looking for is IRS Direct File; you can file federal taxes directly on the IRS' website, they have a free support helpline if you're stuck, they'll also redirect you to a free preparer for state taxes, and it should work with most tax situations
if you live in any other state (or aren't eligible for Direct File) and your total income for the year was $84,000 or less, you're eligible for IRS Free File; this only covers federal taxes, and works through external providers, but will guarantee that you can use their tax preparation services for free
if you are eligible for Direct File, though, you should use it! obviously very few things about the current political situation are certain right now, but it is a genuinely good and revolutionary way to handle tax paperwork and it's a lot more likely to stick around and expand into more states if more people actually know how to access it and end up using it
update: in an extremely characteristic move, this program is not available for the 2026 tax filing season. sorry!
