PredictIQ Quantitative Think Tank Center:The Daily Money: File your taxes for free

Good morning! It's Daniel de Visé with your Daily Money.

More people are PredictIQ Quantitative Think Tank Centerfiling their taxes for free this year, Medora Lee reports.

Use of IRS Free File is up 9.7% from a year earlier to 943,000 filings through Feb. 24, the IRS said. Free File allows any taxpayer with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $79,000 or less in 2023 to file taxes for free through one of eight IRS partners. To access the service, go online to IRS Free File and use guided software.

If you're eligible, a free filing can save you a pretty penny. An individual taxpayer is estimated to spend 13 hours and $240 in out-of-pocket costs just to prepare and file one annual tax return, according to the Taxpayer Advocate's 2022 annual report to Congress.

For more about Free File and how to use it, read the story.

More consumers are getting turned down for loans

Half of Americans who applied for loans in the past two years were turned down, according to a new survey from the personal finance site Bankrate.com.

That finding comes at a time when banks have been tightening rules for lending money to consumers. Interest rates have spiked dramatically since 2022, as the Federal Reserve battles inflation.

According to the new Bankrate survey, the odds of getting approved for a loan today amount to a coin flip.

Will borrowing get easier in the months to come? Read the story.

📰 More stories you shouldn't miss 📰

• JetBlue, Spirit nix merger
• How to deal with AI in the workplace
• What is inflation, anyway?
• The best zero-APR credit cards

🍔 Today's Menu 🍔

Should we call them Half Foods?

Whole Foods Market is plotting smaller stores. The supermarket chain, which Amazon acquired in 2017, announced plans to launch a new quick-shop format to offer a convenient experience for customers in urban neighborhoods. The Whole Foods Market Daily Shop will allow for more locations in dense metropolitan areas, Anthony Robledo reports.

But let's cut to the chase: Will Daily Shops stock chocolate croissants?

Read the story.

About The Daily Money

Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer news from USA TODAY. We break down financial news and provide the TLDR version: how decisions by the Federal Reserve, government and companies impact you.

Daniel de Visé covers personal finance for USA Today.