There’s a welcome change in store for taxpayers who use the Free File program run by the Internal Revenue Service.

The IRS said that the vendors who provide the Free File service agreed to stop pitching to taxpayers refund-anticipation loans and other commercial products, such as insurance or mortgages.

This is the fifth year for the service under which the IRS has teamed up with tax preparation companies to allow individuals to file their returns electronically for free. People must go to the IRS Web site (www.irs.gov) to take advantage of the service. The program is available only to taxpayers who earn $52,000 or less, up from $50,000 last year.

The removal of marketing from the Free File process still could use some fine-tuning. While it’s true that all the sites now have a way for people to use the free service without ads, it’s not 100 percent advertising-free. Many of the sites advertise that they will electronically file your state tax return for a fee. And there are links for what the providers call “value-added offers.”

When you go to the IRS Web site and click on the Free File link, you are taken to a list of participating companies. You then have to click on a link for the company you may want to use based on whether you meet its criteria.

In some cases you still have to read through a lot of verbiage before you’re taken to the Free File sign-in page on the vendor’s Web site. If you know you qualify, go straight to “Start My Free File Return.” If you don’t see that wording, read through information about whether you qualify to file for free then hit a button that says “Start Now.”

The recent change is better than what was available before – bolder and more aggressive marketing for everything from high-priced tax refund loans to franchising opportunities.

The IRS found that only one half of 1 percent of taxpayers using Free File last year took out refund-anticipation loans.

Still, consumer advocates were disturbed about the marketing of refund anticipation loans, or RALs, which are short-term loans – typically seven to 14 days – backed by a person’s tax refund. RALs cost from about $30 to more than $125 in loan fees. Some tax preparers also charge a separate fee, often called an “application” or “document preparation” fee, of about $40, according to the National Consumer Law Center and Consumer Federation of America. The fees for these loans when converted to an interest rate can range from about 40 percent to more than 500 percent annually.

Every year the two consumer agencies launch campaigns to try and steer people away from these loans.

“A government Web site shouldn’t be used to sell triple-digit interest rate loans to low-income workers,” said Jean Ann Fox, a director at the federation.

Not to mention that the loan is unnecessary. If you file electronically and have your refund directly deposited into your own bank account you can get your money in about two or three weeks – for free.