This sh*t is confusing. I realized there’s a Free File option and there’s a Free File FILLABLE FORMS. The first one is for those with an AGI below $89K. I had tried to efile my 2024 calendar year tax refund in December 2025 through TurboTax but it was too late. So then I mailed my forms to some town in Missouri. However I still got a letter that said that I need to file my return. Like WTF, didn’t you guys at the IRS receive my mailed forms?
Now I went to the IRS site and there’s an option to efile. I wonder if anyone with an AGI above $89K has tried this option. I’m just hesitant to go to another third party site to put in all my data but at this point I feel that the IRS doesn’t want to manually enter data from my mailed form into their system and are making me do efile instead. I am owed a refund if that matters.
Has anyone used the Free File “Fillable Forms” for AGI greater than $89K?
byu/enigma_goth intax
Posted by enigma_goth
5 Comments
Sounds like they have not received your mailed form if they sent you a letter asking for it. Was the letter from IRS or State? Not sure what Missouri address you would have used to mail a tax return to.
Why don’t you use a free option like FreeTaxUSA to file your taxes?
>Has anyone used the Free File “Fillable Forms” for AGI greater than $89K?
I’ve never actually filed with this, but some people do love it. I am not one of those people. I use FreeTaxUSA for my personal return. It’s really free for federal, and states are usually $15. Cash App is also popular.
>So then I mailed my forms to some town in Missouri. However I still got a letter that said that I need to file my return. Like WTF, didn’t you guys at the IRS receive my mailed forms?
They probably got the return in Dec 2025 but it can take six months or longer for a prior-year tax return to get processed. The papers get stamped and put on carts that are kept securely stored until it’s time to enter them in the computer system; up until that point there is no way to actually track where your tax return is.
It’s usually recommended to send important documents using some kind of trackable delivery, like USPS certified or registered mail.
>I feel that the IRS doesn’t want to manually enter data from my mailed form into their system and are making me do efile instead.
Yup! IRS could make processing paper tax returns and other forms more efficient but they don’t think it’s worth the investment.
You could have still e-filed the 2024 tax return if you had an Identity Protection PIN from IRS, but not during the last few months of the year and most of January. IRS shuts down the MeF system during that time to get ready for the upcoming tax season.
You actually can’t use Free Fillable Forms for a previous tax year.
If you’re looking to use it for this year – it’s certainly usable. Think of it as filling out your taxes by paper but on a digital version. It does some of the math and carryover for you, but doesn’t provide any advice or ask any questions. It’s essentially just a digital version and submission of the paper forms.
STOP!! You mailed your return. The IRS has it. It is a prior-year return, so it goes into the “when we get to it” stack. If you send it again or efile, it will create problems. Call the phone number on the notice at exactly the time the letter says they start accepting calls. Ask them to note that you mailed the return per the instructions in the first notice. Give them the address you used.
They will tell you it may take a couple of months to process. Please be patient.