Learning about Direct File's Spanish version user experience
Why this matters for families
Across the country, millions of families are living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to afford their basics on low to moderate incomes. To help these families, over 31 states and the federal government have instituted the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which can provide families with thousands of dollars after filing their federal and state taxes. Tax credits have become a critical anti-poverty program in the United States, providing an essential source of cash for many American workers and families.
The 2021 expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) in the American Rescue Plan reduced child poverty in the United States by 40% that year. However, accessing credits like the CTC is notoriously difficult as they are claimed during annual tax filing. The bipartisan, highly successful EITC reaches only 80% of eligible households nationwide, with lower-income, less-educated households being most likely to leave money on the table compared to other populations. The IRS estimates that roughly 20% of EITC-eligible and CTC-eligible individuals do not receive the credit payments they are owed — the federal EITC alone averaged $2,500 per return in 2022.
The federal Direct File pilot was a test of two ideas: could the IRS make it easier and cheaper for taxpayers to file their taxes, and could the federal government deliver a scalable pilot of a novel technology service? The answer to both questions depends on Direct File’s ability to serve all — or at least most — eligible taxpayers, which includes Spanish speaking filers. Ensuring a successful pilot means understanding all the ways in which the product did and did not succeed before rolling out the program more broadly. As part of the New Practice Lab’s support of the IRS Direct File Pilot program, we took on the task of Spanish-speaker user research. User research is an essential part of product development, and we sought to understand how, if at all, did the user experience of Spanish speakers differ from their English-speaking counterparts?
Our Approach
We sought to conduct deep, first-person research directly with those that had navigated the Direct File tool in Spanish. What challenges did they face with the product, what processes were they able to complete? If there were issues specific to Spanish speakers, building an inclusive digital tool would depend on addressing these before national rollout.
ORIGINAL OBJECTIVE 1
Ensure that Spanish-speaking users’ experience informed the product roadmap prioritization.
WHAT WE DID
In May of 2024, we held one on one remote interviews with Direct File users, as well as conducted remote interviews and informal email surveys of organizations that work with Spanish speaking filers.
Recruited via direct invitation by a community organization and IRS, these users were all individuals for whom Spanish is their primary language. Because of the size of the pilot, however, the number of Spanish speaking Direct File users was small, and the sample size limited.
Ultimately, we were only able to speak with three successful filers and one filer who was ineligible to use the tool.
While an ideal sample would have 8-10 users, there remains value in user research, regardless of size.
ORIGINAL OBJECTIVE 2
Gain an understanding of how Spanish-speakers initially learn about Direct File to understand what if any patterns exist among these users.
WHAT WE DID
See interview notes above.
What We Learned
We worked to understand the filer journey across five parts: Explore, Enter, Engage, Exit and Extend. Each of these journey parts are important to understanding user experience, and each comes with their own set of learnings. At a high level, however, the takeaways were:
Overall, users felt very positive about using Direct File.
The simplicity and clarity of the tool has helped earn the trust of users and all eligible users plan to use the tool again next year. When it comes to exploring tax filing options, some filers had been burned by fraudulent in-person filers previously, while others were turned off from the cost associated with other digital tax filing systems. Generally speaking, what was most influential in the decision making process for filers was word of mouth experience from a trusted friend or colleague.
Trust is key throughout the experience.
Prior to starting, users need assurance the tool is safe to use. Recommendations from a known source goes a long way here. Once engaged in the tool, there needs to be trust that it is secure and the user is filling it out correctly and accurately. The decision to engage with Direct File came mainly from the sense of safety and trust they had with the system. The “.gov” URL created a sense of legitimacy for users. While the cost-free nature of Direct File was an appealing factor for some, there was also a sense of distrust because of the lack of associated cost. Notarios publicos often advertise their services as free, and then retain a portion of the return as payment — a situation which has unknowingly pushed some users into fraud.
“We had a preparer who, on one occasion…put that I have a student loan… but we had no knowledge of that. Afterwards, the IRS sent us a fine… We changed accountants but I’ve never felt comfortable since then. That’s why this makes sense to me, directly with the government.”
The tool needs to meet users where they are at.
Providing clear guidance on what they need to do and why calculations are happening can build confidence. The tool should also take into account the varied times and places that people may be filling out their forms.
“Those apps that are free aren’t always trustworthy, especially for people who have been victims of fraud like me. ”
While most users found entering and engaging fairly easy, there were smaller technical issues — such as the amount of light required to use ID.me. There were no major issues with the Spanish that was used within the app, but there was a need for greater clarity on things like deductions and eligible student expenses.
Next Steps
With the pilot now expanded for use in more than half the states in the coming year, there will be a massive influx in users and experiences to assess and measure. One missing element of the Spanish speakers we were able to engage with is ITIN users, as well as families with mixed immigration status to understand additional specific concerns around engaging directly with the tool.
