Report: Trump Advisory Commission Considers Free Tax-Filing App

Intuit and H&R Block saw their stocks drop 5% and 8%, respectively, on Tuesday (Nov. 19) after a media report that the incoming Trump administration is considering a free tax-filing app.

The Washington Post reported in a paywalled article that Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an outside advisory commission that will be led by Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, has held “highly preliminary” discussions about creating such an app, CNBC reported Tuesday.

A free tax-filing app would compete with both Intuit’s TurboTax and H&R Block, according to the CNBC report.

Intuit spokeswoman Tania Mercado said in the report: “For decades, Intuit has publicly called for simplifying the U.S. tax code so individuals, families and small businesses can better understand their finances.”

H&R Block Director of Government Relations George Agurkis told CNBC that the company looks forward “to engaging with the new Administration and Department of Government Efficiency on their ideas related to sound and efficient tax administration.”

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) currently offers a Free File program that lets taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of $79,000 or less file for free, and the agency rolled out a pilot Direct File program in 12 states in March that is available to qualified taxpayers, per the report.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said Nov. 12 that H&R Block will pay $7 million and change some of its practices under a proposed settlement that would resolve the regulator’s lawsuit alleging that the company made deceptive claims about “free” tax filing.

The FTC filed an administrative lawsuit against H&R Block in February, charging that the company advertised its online tax filing products as “free” even though many consumers could not file for free.

An H&R Block spokesperson said in a statement emailed to PYMNTS earlier this month: “H&R Block prides itself in providing consumers with quality online tax preparation products, which has never been an issue in this matter. We will continue to work through this process with the Commission. We are proud of the value, unmatched tax expertise, and fair and transparent pricing we provide to our clients, who have trusted H&R Block for nearly 70 years.”