There are a few countries around the world that don't require it. They know how much money you made last year and their tax system is so simple that they know how much money you should get back or pay in at the end of each year and just send you your bill or refund. The U.S. is not one of those countries. Our tax code is so complicated that I doubt any accountant could name all of the deductions a person or business can have without looking them up.
Every spring you'll notice an increase in the number of texts, emails and phone calls you get from scammers. They'll tell you that you owe money to the IRS and that you can conveniently pay off your debt with an Apple gift card or some other nonsense means. If you owe money to the IRS, they'll only accept U.S. dollars, and the first thing you'll get is a letter in the mail. Ignore these scams, the IRS won't send you to jail unless you've been skipping your taxes for years and you'll know it. You'll get letters in the mail, or if it's bad enough someone will visit you in person. The IRS doesn't want you in jail, because a person in jail has no way to earn money with which to pay taxes.
You should also know that if you make less than $73,000 per year you can file your taxes for free. If you google "free tax filing" you'll likely get lots of ads and other deceptive links. TurboTax and other tax providers will have links that claim to let you file your taxes for free, but these links are almost entirely deceptive. Chances are you'll find one thinking it's for free tax filing, enter all of the required information, only to find out you have to pay at the end. They're counting on you not wanting to go through all of that effort again so you'll just pay the fee.
This is the first year in a long time that TurboTax isn't participating in the IRS free file program. However, it is still possible to file for free through TurboTax, you must simply meet the requirements. For example, if you use "TurboTax Free Edition" you can file for free so long as your taxes are simple. If you have rental income or income from stock sales you likely won't qualify. H&R Block also no longer participates in the IRS free file program.
That doesn't mean it'll be hard to find a way to file your taxes for free. If you go to apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile you can browse a list of providers that offer free tax filing. There are still several providers there, though each of them have different requirements. Entering your information is the easiest way to determine if you qualify.
I quickly perused the list of providers and saw that there are several that will let Minnesota residents file their taxes for free if they make less than $73,000 per year. It's probably easier to use these providers than TurboTax or another big company. While they technically have free tax filing they'll trick you with patterns on web pages that get you to click into a paid tax filing program rather than the free one.
I doubt there will be an automatic filing extension this year like there was last year due to COVID. Don't put this off until the last minute, and I hope you all get big returns.