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Changing the way Chime® members file their taxes: The story behind delivering 100% free in-app tax filing

Tax

Just before the whirlwind of tax season in 2024—with its daunting paperwork and calculations—we introduced a new feature to make the expensive and often stressful tax filing experience simple, fast, and free1 for our members. Following a successful pilot program in 2024, this in-app feature is now available for all new and existing Chime members.

When Chime members e-file their taxes through Chime in partnership with april and Column Tax, filing is completely free. Plus, members can get their federal tax refund up to six days early2 when they direct deposit it with Chime.

The journey of making filing taxes possible in-app began with a simple hackathon idea but evolved into a powerful tool that redefines how our members approach tax filing—and could save them up to hundreds of dollars apiece in tax preparation fees.3 We sat down with two Chimers to learn about the idea behind the feature and the process of bringing it to life.

Putting money back in members’ pockets

The concept of an in-app tax feature all started with a Chime hackathon project aimed at helping members file their taxes for free. The response to the project was promising—some people used it—so the team decided to expand upon the feature.

“There are over a billion dollars of unclaimed IRS refunds yearly,4” explains Wilson. “That money should be easy for people to file and claim, rather than just skipping their taxes.” In user research, the team discovered people weren’t filing because they didn’t want to pay a fee and didn’t trust the available apps or companies to file for them.

For Chime’s members, the average tax refund is $3500,5 and members often put off large purchases until their refunds come in. Moreover, with many members already using direct deposit with Chime, the data would be easy to prepopulate for them.

Bringing the feature to life

Bringing in-app access to filing taxes to life required meticulous planning, technical expertise, and a constant focus on member-centric design. Whether they were building necessary infrastructure or integrating with tax filing vendors, the team stayed focused on simplicity and efficiency to deliver the most accessible feature possible.

To start, they built the connections to Chime’s tax-filing vendors, doing so in a way that would facilitate adding vendors later on. “It was a really graceful technical design and let us add a second vendor in under three weeks because we already had the patterns established,” explains Wilson.

Then, they moved on to building flows for different use cases. “We focused on a single use case at first to make sure the base functionality worked and then built it out for other use cases and edge cases,” Wilson explains. “We’d go through the cases, build them, test them, and then QA them internally and with our vendors.”

Then they switched gears into thinking about optimization and performance for the product—and this is when marketing got to work on their plan. “Just as member insights informed the shape of the product, all of our messaging is also rooted in the insights we gathered about what’s important to members,” explains Michelle. “For example, we knew that a free tool was critical and that getting a fast refund is significant—those key features guided how we designed the marketing messaging and plan. We worked closely with our two vendors on designing the communications strategy—after all, they have a lot of experience in this industry.”

Before the full-blown launch, the team embarked on a pilot phase to validate its hypothesis and mitigate potential risks. After a successful pilot and meticulous analysis, the team expanded the pilot, ultimately paving the way for a broader rollout this year.

Navigating challenges and embracing deadlines

Throughout the journey to launch, the team encountered various challenges—from technical complexities to marketing considerations. Yet, with collaboration and perseverance, they navigated each obstacle and got to an on-time launch.

“Deadlines for software teams are typically self-imposed, but this one was federally imposed,” Wilson says. “We didn’t have the luxury of delaying—every day that went by was lost to our actual start date because tax season opens on a specific date. It was a huge learning experience and an interesting way of approaching a launch.”

With such externally imposed time restrictions, the teams had to stay coordinated. “We were in lock-step with our Product and Engineering partners—it was really a partnership across everyone working on the feature,” Michelle explains. “We also worked super closely with our vendor partners, keeping them updated and involved at every step of the way.”

Member gratitude: Reflecting on a successful pilot

Reflecting on the launch, the team is proud of how the in-app tax pilot went and the positive feedback they received from members. “The fact that it’s free is so exciting—otherwise, members could be paying an average of $150,6” Wilson explains. “To give them both a free product and a fast refund is huge.” For Michelle, it was fun to see the creative collateral come to life. “I’m excited to start marketing even earlier next year and engaging members on the opportunity to file—and get their refunds—sooner,” she says.

Following last year’s pilot, the team conducted user research interviews with members about the experience. “On the whole, members expressed gratitude for Chime doing what they viewed as the right thing to do,” Wilson explains. “Many couldn’t believe the service is actually free—and is a legitimate way to file their taxes. Hearing that feedback made me super proud of the work we’re doing. I could tell in the tone of their voices and the looks on their faces that this feature means something to them.”

Through the pilot, the team was hoping to prove a need for an in-app tax feature—and provide a solution that members would love. “Every time we saw new filings coming through, it was like a dopamine hit,” Wilson says. “With full conviction that there is product-market fit for this feature and it’s something members need, we were able to focus on how to scale to as many members as possible—and launch to our entire member base this year.”

The cherry on top? Wilson filed his own taxes through Chime last year: “I made a mistake, and the app caught it, the support team fixed it, and the feature saved me a bunch of money,” he says. “I was a believer to begin with, but my own experience with the feature really cemented my trust in what we delivered to members.”

Disclosures

Chime® is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC. The Chime Visa® Debit Card and the Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card are issued by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa debit and credit cards are accepted. Please see the back of your Card for its issuing bank.

By clicking on some of the links above, you will leave the Chime website and be directed to a third-party website. The privacy practices of those third parties may differ from those of Chime. We recommend you review the privacy statements of those third party websites, as Chime is not responsible for those third parties' privacy or security practices.

Third-party trademarks referenced for informational purposes only; no endorsements implied.

Tax e-file services provided by April Tax Solutions Inc. (“april”) or Column Tax, Inc. (“Column Tax”).

These tax filing offers are not endorsed or offered by our partners, The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A.

Chime does not provide tax advice. Please consult your accountant for tailored tax guidance.

 

1 There are no fees required to use this product. Chime does not require you to deposit your refund into your Chime Account to qualify for free tax filing. Certain costs may be incurred if you decide to obtain other optional financial products offered in relation to your tax filing. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) may impose penalties or other charges depending on your personal tax situation. If the april tax preparation software makes a mathematical error that results in your payment of a penalty and/or interest to the IRS that you would otherwise not have been required to pay, april will reimburse you up to a maximum of $10,000. See april terms for details. If interest and/or a penalty is imposed by the IRS as a result of a computational error by Column Tax, you may be entitled to up to $10,000 reimbursement by Column Tax. See Column Tax terms for details.

2 Chime does not guarantee timing of refund. Six day refund estimate is based on 2023 tax year filing data. Refund timing estimates are dependent upon timing of complete tax return submission and when the IRS submits your refund.

3 According to Investopedia

4 According to the IRS

5 Average amount based on 2024 Chime filing data.

6  IRS 1040 and 1040-SR Instructions Tax Year 2023, page 108 for non-business taxpayers, as of November 8, 2024: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf