I'm curious why a second repository was created for this.
> The main changes are: [...] converting the fact-graph to a standalone library [...]
So it's always possible they'll just forget to shut it off.
The 2024 site remains up so people can file their taxes for that year, but it will no longer be updated.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.16126v1
[0] but it's quite possible the conversion from HTML to text is bad
Would be neat (and still legally fraught!).
However it's clear that we are moving towards separating the data and the language model. Even base chatgpt is given Search Tools and python Tools instead of producing them by text, the tool call itself may be generated by the model though.
You can for sure use a pure LLM to ask it questions about tax code, but we'll probably see specific tools that only contain canon law and kosher case law, and sources it properly. Y'know instead of halucinating
It begs the question why you assume the parent comment was going to blindly follow the LLMs output.
You can pay for K-12 with 529 or Coverdell ESA funds. But neither allows deductions for contributions. Only growth in either is tax free (assuming it’s spent on education expenses).
In particular there's a pretty nice inline tutorial that's still there in that release: https://github.com/IRS-Public/direct-file/blob/main/direct-f...
What does it mean for the license to say "within the US"?
Does this mean this software cannot be used outside the US?
It means exactly what it says; you have to read the whole thing (or at least the two sentences before the CC 1.0 Universal text, which is the operative mechanism by which the second sentence is effected), not a fraction of the first sentence.
> Does this mean this software cannot be used outside the US?
No. The license explains two things:
(1) Without any license, this is automatically public domain in the US because it is a federal government work.
(2) The federal government (as the owner of the copyright at creation outside the United States, at least anywhere that applies the common rules underlying the Berne Convention) waives copyright worldwide, and does so via the CC 1.0 Universal declaration (the text of which is then included.)
So, it is, to the extent that this is legally possible, copyright-free globally.
To satisfy these conflicting requirements, the US government places it in the Public Domain in the US to satisfy US law. Additionally, they make it available internationally under a license that approximates the intent of Public Domain while still being recognized as a legally valid thing.
It’s pretty cool to see the way that the IRS handles defining and maintaining its tax calculations, but also a machine-readable tax code seems cool too.
https://github.com/IRS-Public/direct-file/tree/e0d5c84451cc5...
I hope this initiative is good enough to enable domain experts and good people to build transparent, user-friendly alternatives to challenge TurboTax’s market grip.
Has anyone encountered promising tools or approaches that tackle these pain points?
https://apnews.com/article/irs-direct-file-tax-returns-free-...
Freetaxusa.com (no affiliation) is just as good and legitimately free.
ok123456•2h ago
NoahZuniga•2h ago
ok123456•2h ago
akerl_•2h ago
This is the rules engine's details. You could use it to build the logic and traversal in whatever language you like.