News and Analysis
Taxwell’s loan dips after Trump officials mull free tax filing app
- Sasha Padbidri
- +David Bell
•2 min read
Taxwell’s term loan debt traded down on 19 November following a report that President-elect Donald Trump’s government efficiency team has discussed trying to develop a free app for Americans to file their taxes.
Trump’s incoming Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, has held early discussions over a potential tax filing app as part of a broader overhaul of the US tax system, according to a 19 November report from The Washington Post. This comes as Trump and his allies seek to reduce government spending and federal regulation.
Cinven-backed Taxwell is the parent company of tax preparation brands Drake Software and TaxAct. The former provides software solutions to tax and accounting firms while the latter is a DIY tax filing software.
Although TaxAct has a free option for tax filing, it is only available to people with qualifying income and deductions. Any proposed DOGE tax filing app would be a competitor to TaxAct, in addition to peers H&R Block and TurboTax.
It’s worth noting that the IRS already launched a pilot program in March for its Direct File tool, which allows qualifying taxpayers in 12 states to file their taxes for free via smartphone, tablet, or desktop computer.
Taxwell’s term loan B due 2031 recorded a bid/ask of 93.5/95.5 on Tuesday, versus 98.75/99.75 the day before, according to ICE data.
The loan was part of a transaction led by JP Morgan in June to refinance debt and fund a dividend distribution.
H&R Block is not a leveraged credit, but its stock plunged more than 8% to $55.49 per share on Tuesday after the report was published. Intuit, which makes the TurboTax software, also saw its share price drop roughly 5% to $634.94 on Tuesday.
Cinven declined to comment. A Taxwell representative did not return a request for comment.
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