Shares of H&R Block and Intuit fell Tuesday after The Washington Post reported President-elect Donald Trump Department of Government EfficiencyThe company run by billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy is looking to develop a free app for people to file their taxes.
The publication cited two people who spoke on condition of anonymity. reporting DOGE leaders of the incoming administration discussed the idea of creating a mobile app for filing income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service.
Shares of H&R Block fell 8.2% on Tuesday, while Intuit fell 5.1%. As major players in tax preparation, H&R Block and Intuit, the makers of TurboTax, generate billions in revenue annually by offering online and in-person services.
The Biden administration launched a pilot Direct File program through the IRS in March 12 statesThis allows eligible taxpayers to file directly through the federal portal. Additionally, the IRS provides services through its free file Program for people whose adjusted gross income is $79,000 or less.
According to the Treasury Department, more than 100,000 taxpayers used the new Direct File program to file their taxes this year, the first time the system was in operation.
DOGE, which has been directed by Trump to reduce government spending and cut federal regulations, criticized the complexity of the US tax code in a Nov. 16 post on Musk-owned social media service, X.
Its X account reads, “In 1955, there were less than 1.5 million words in the U.S. tax code. Today, there are more than 16 million words.” “Because of this complexity, Americans collectively spend 6.5 billion hours preparing and filing their taxes each year.”
Intuit and H&R Block also have free filing options.
As noted, the Federal Trade Commission blocked Intuit from advertising its popular TurboTax product for free at the beginning of the year. Most people have to pay To use it. The FTC filed an administrative complaint against H&R Block in February, alleging that it marketed its tax-preparation products for free yet deleted data As a way of pressuring them to pay for expensive services. Both companies said they would appeal.