No, you don't have to pay to file your taxes. You can pay to hv someone else do your taxes for you. The tax code is so screwed up, that it can be difficult to figure everything out yourself; but, you can. I've always done my own taxes.

The only "automation" I now use is an Excel spreadsheet, put out each year, for free, by Glen Reeves, (https://sites.google.com/view/incometaxspreadsheet/home/chan...)