WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service and private tax preparers have agreed that a free electronic filing program will be offered for 2006 tax returns without solicitations for refund loans that sometimes carry high interest charges and fees.

The IRS said the Free File Alliance, a coalition of tax preparation software makers that make their software products available for free, would no longer include side offerings such as refund anticipation loans in their programs.

Such loans let customers immediately take home an expected refund. But consumer groups have complained that some loans come with high interest rates and fees.

"We heard many legitimate concerns about the marketing of ancillary products during the last filing season," IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson said in a statement. "This is a constructive step."

The head of the Free File Alliance, Tim Hugo, said with the elimination of refund loans, "the Free File Alliance takes another giant leap forward on behalf of the taxpaying public."

The IRS said its data showed that only 0.5 percent of Free File users requested a refund loan this year in filing their 2005 tax returns.

The Free File program enters its fifth year in January. It is available to taxpayers who earn $52,000 or less, about 70 percent of all returns. Taxpayers must enter Free File through the IRS site, www.irs.gov.