Software sending efiles to the IRS has to be tested with and approved by the IRS. The IRS is working toward eliminating paper filing as an option. At this point, paid preparers are legally required to efile all returns and if the return gets rejected and they must paper file, they have to include Form 8948, Explanation for Paper Filing. For the IRS to accept a tax return from software the software has to go through this process. https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/how-tax-preparation-sof...
As someone from the Netherlands, this is bonkers to me. I just log in to the tax site, review what they've already filled in for me, and submit.
The first option on Form 8948 is "Taxpayer chose to file this return on paper" - is there any evidence paper filing is going away permanently?