Robert Brown|Maryland will participate in the IRS’s online tax filing program

ANNAPOLIS,Robert Brown Md. (AP) — Maryland is participating in the IRS’s Direct File program, a new free service that will allow eligible taxpayers to prepare and file their tax return online, state and federal officials announced Wednesday.

Comptroller Brooke Lierman said the eligibility qualifications for the program have not yet been finalized for next year, but it’s estimated about 700,000 state residents could qualify.

The IRS experimented with the free electronic tax filing return system this year. In May, the it announced it would make the system permanent and asked all 50 states and the District of Columbia to help taxpayers file their returns through the program in 2025.

The IRS tried the Direct File project for the 2024 tax season on a limited basis in 12 states for people with very simple W-2s, an employee’s wage and tax statement.

The comptroller’s office is partnering with the nonprofit Code for America to build a platform that will securely transfer information from a federal tax return to a state tax return. The office says that will enable Maryland residents with relatively simple tax returns to save time on paperwork and get their refunds faster.