Some Maryland taxpayers will be able to use a free electronic filing tool for their federal taxes rather than having to pay a tax preparer or buy tax-filing software next year, when Maryland will offer the IRS’s new Direct File service.

The service was tested in 12 states this year, where 140,803 people filed with Direct File, saving an estimated $5.6 million in tax preparation fees. Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman (D) estimated Wednesday that as many as 700,000 Maryland taxpayers could be eligible for the program when it debuts in the state next year.

“While we value our relationship with tax preparers and CPAs (certified public accountants), it’s unacceptable that Marylanders should have to pay any portion whatsoever of their refund or paycheck to fulfill a mandatory requirement like filing tax returns,” Lierman said at a news conference announcing the program.

The IRS and the U.S. Treasury still have to finalize eligibility rules for the program this fall, but Lierman said it will be a “game changer” for those families who do qualify, which could be as much as 20% of individual taxpayers in the state.

“Taxes are a part of the glue that keeps our state and our nation together, functioning, producing, protecting and thriving,” Lierman said. “Yet in America, we make it uniquely challenging to pay those taxes and file a return — until now.”

According to the Treasury, taxpayers spend “approximately 13 hours and $270 preparing their taxes each year.” Many Americans use tax filing services or software, such as TurboTax and H&R Block, to ensure that their taxes are filed correctly, despite most of the information being readily available state and federal tax collection agencies.

Direct File launched this year in 12 states for people to file their 2023 federal returns — Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo said the program is aimed at helping middle-income tax filers with “relatively simple” filings.

“What I can tell you is our goal for us is to build a system that’s going to work for working class and middle class Americans. So you get a W-2, and you’re somebody who’s a teacher, you’re a fireman, you’re a doctor who’s earning most of your money from a W-2, we want to make sure we’re building a system that potentially works for you,” said Adeyemo, who was in Annapolis for the announcement.

“The thing we’re not going to do is build a system that works for big corporations or wealthy individuals. Next year we’re going to expand the system so that more Americans are able to participate in it,” Adeyemo said.

The Biden administration invited all 50 states and the District of Columbia to join the program next year, when people will be filing their 2024 taxes. The Treasury said that Maryland joins Oregon, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Connecticut, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Maine in taking up Direct File.

“I know to some, this announcement may seem inconsequential — and I know how exciting tax announcements are,” Gov. Wes Moore (D) joked at the announcement. “But the details matter. They matter to the families who are impacted by this work. They’re going to matter to the families, who … dread tax season because it feels complicated. Who dread tax season because it seems expensive, or oftentimes have to deal with the consequences of getting something wrong.”

The Direct File program came out of the Inflation Reduction Act signed in 2022, which also secured additional funding to help the IRS modernize and provide better services to Americans.

But Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who chairs a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee, said Direct File program and other services under the Inflation Reduction Act could be “under threat.”  While his subcommittee wants to fully fund the IRS and keep Direct File going, House leaders want to cut funding for both.

He also said that the industry is lobbying against the free tax filing system.

“There are people who didn’t want us to do this, including a lot of the middlemen” who currently profit from tax preparation, Van Hollen said. “They’re lobbying against this kind of thing.”

In addition to Van Hollen, Moore, Lierman and Adeyemo, Wednesday’s event drew a number of Maryland Democratic heavyweights: U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, U.S. Reps. Steny Hoyer John Sarbanes and State Treasurer Dereck Davis.

Hoyer put it simply: “Nobody likes taxes.”

“We don’t really get excited about paying our taxes. But we know that it is the price of our democracy,” Hoyer said. “We ought to make it as easy as possible for people to comply with a legal obligation that they have to support their country, their state and their communities.”

BALTIMORE -Nice weather continues through Thursday. Sprinkles & drizzle may develop Friday with steadier rain likely Saturday. 

We are right in the middle of an outstanding weather pattern that will continue into Thursday. Temperatures reached the middle to upper 70s Wednesday afternoon with comfortable humidity levels. High clouds are mainly south of Baltimore, so we’ve enjoyed a mostly sunny sky.

We have a fantastic evening of weather on the way. If you’re headed to the Os game this evening expect mostly sunny weather for the 1st pitch at 6:35 PM against the White Sox. Temperatures will start in the upper 70s, but then ease into the lower 70s by the end of the game. 

Early fall-like temperatures return tonight with lows in the 50s for most neighborhoods. The coolest overnight lows in the low 50s will be located in neighborhoods north and west of the Baltimore Beltway. Temperatures in the metro will dip down into the upper 50s. Any patchy high thin clouds will sink south overnight.

Humidity levels gradually climb Thursday, but we still score ourselves a very nice day. Highs will climb toward 80°. Other than a few patchy clouds, expect a mostly sunny sky. 

You will feel even more humidity in the air on Friday. With an easterly to southeasterly wind off the Ocean, areas of low clouds will be possible. As the atmosphere continues to moisten through the day Friday, patchy sprinkles and drizzle will become possible. The greatest chance for this happening would be late Friday into Friday evening. While the rain will be light and patchy in nature, you may want a poncho or light rain jacket if you’re headed to any high school Friday night football games. 

Scattered showers and patchy drizzle is likely Friday night with lows in the middle 60s.

Saturday will be our last real humid day for awhile. Expect patchy areas of light rain and showers during the morning and midday hours. There may be a lull or two in the wet weather Saturday, but a steadier round of showers, possibly a thunderstorm will cross the area Saturday evening into early Saturday night. Highs on Saturday will top out in the upper 70s. The cold front that’s responsible for Saturday’s wet weather will flush out the clouds, showers, and humidity overnight Saturday. Temperatures late Saturday night will fall into the lower to middle 50s!

Sunday has another beautiful fall-like feel. Early morning temperatures in the lower to middle 50s with highs in the middle 70s. We get to enjoy abundant sunshine and pleasant breeze out of the northwest at 10 mph.

A winning stretch of weather continues for most of next week along with a gradual warming trend. Highs on Monday reach the upper 70s. By Tuesday and Wednesday, high temperatures climb into the lower 80s with plenty of sunshine and low humidity. We get to enjoy yet another spectacular stretch of September weather for most of next week with little to no rain! 

The Democratic candidate for senate in Maryland is leading her GOP rival despite more than a third of eligible voters not recognizing her name.

A poll published by Gonzales Research & Media Services this week found that Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks has pulled ahead of Republican former Governor Larry Hogan by five points — 46% to 41%.

Alsobrooks’ current success in the polls comes as a surprise, given the Democratic candidate’s continued struggles with low name recognition among voters.

The Gonzales poll found that approximately 34% of registered voters do not recognize Alsobrooks by name. This includes approximately 33% of independents who do not recognize Alsobrooks, as well as 17% of eligible voters registered with the Democratic Party.

NEW POLL REVEALS REPUBLICAN SENATE CANDIDATE DEADLOCKED WITH DEM IN CRUCIAL DEEP BLUE STATE

Notably, 72% of total eligible voters told the pollster that they did not recognize the Democratic candidate.

MARYLAND DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE SAYS THERE SHOULD BE NO LIMIT ON ABORTION

The winner of the November election will succeed Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin, who is retiring this year after serving nearly two decades in the Senate and nearly six decades as a state and then federal lawmaker.

With Democrats trying to protect their fragile Senate majority, Hogan’s late entry into the race in February gave them an unexpected headache in a state previously considered safe territory. 

Former two-term Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland celebrates his victory in the 2024 Maryland Republican Senate primary, in Annapolis, Maryland. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

Hogan left the governor’s office at the beginning of 2023 with very positive approval and favorable ratings.

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A vocal Republican critic of former President Trump who previously flirted with a 2024 White House run, Hogan has repeatedly said that he will not vote for the former president in November’s election. In the spring, he stood out from most other Republicans for publicly calling for the guilty verdicts in Trump’s criminal trial to be respected.

The Gonzales Research & Media Services poll was conducted from Aug. 24 to Aug. 30 and surveyed 820 self-described likely voters via phone interviews.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.