Things federal law makes free. Each item links to the official source. Checked 2026-10-21.
Federal law (the Fair Credit Reporting Act) guarantees one free credit report per bureau every 12 months. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion have permanently extended that to one free report per bureau every week, through the one federally authorized site.
AnnualCreditReport.com — or by phone, 1-877-322-8228.
Source: FTC, "You Now Have Permanent Access to Free Weekly Credit Reports" (consumer.ftc.gov). Other sites with similar names are not the authorized source.
Since 2018, federal law (15 U.S.C. § 1681c-1) requires each bureau to place, temporarily lift, and remove a security freeze at no charge. A freeze blocks new accounts from being opened in your name. It does not affect your credit score. You must contact each bureau separately.
Timing, per USA.gov: freeze requests made online or by phone take effect within one business day; lift requests within one hour. No bureau may charge a fee for a freeze — if a page asks for payment, it is selling a different product.
IRS Free File is a partnership between the IRS and eight tax-software companies. For the 2026 filing season the income limit is an adjusted gross income of $89,000 or less (up from $84,000). Start at the IRS page — starting on a partner's own site can land on a paid product.
Above the limit: Free File Fillable Forms, also on irs.gov, has no income cap and no guidance — electronic versions of the paper forms.
Direct File, the IRS-run filing tool piloted in 2024 and expanded in 2025, has been discontinued. The IRS notified participating states on November 3, 2025 that Direct File will not be available in Filing Season 2026, and no future launch date has been set. If you used Direct File last year, use Free File or Fillable Forms above, and get your prior return through your IRS online account.
Source: IRS notification to state revenue departments, November 3, 2025, as reported by Tax Notes and USA Today; Free File terms per irs.gov/freefile. Checked 2026-10-21.
When a company loses your data in a breach, the breach notice commonly includes an offer of free credit monitoring — often one to two years. The monitoring is not automatic: you have to enroll, and the enrollment window in the notice closes. Miss it and the free monitoring is gone, even though the breach was not your fault.
Class Action Hero tracks open data-breach settlements, many of which include free monitoring as part of the settlement: classactionhero.app.
If your information was exposed, the FTC's recovery steps are at IdentityTheft.gov.