If you plan to file a Massachusetts income tax return this season, you may be able to do it online, at no charge.

But the program’s scope is limited. For example, nonresidents are excluded. Thus, a Rhode Island resident who works in Massachusetts and who must file a Massachusetts income tax return is not eligible.

The Massachusetts Department of Revenue yesterday brought back its free online filing program, which was mothballed several years ago.

At the same time, the agency scrapped its Telefile program, a file-by-phone system.

Massachusetts Revenue Commissioner Navjeet K. Bal said that, effective yesterday, most taxpayers who file basic tax returns or who have used the old Telefile system may use the agency’s Web site to file their income tax returns “conveniently, securely and at no cost.”

The service may also be used by some taxpayers who in the past have bought software packages to file their returns, she said in a statement.

But there are a number of exclusions. For example, you generally cannot use the new system if you fall into any of the following categories involving the 2008 tax year:

•You were not a resident of Massachusetts for the entire year.

•You had income from self-employment.

•You had income from rents, royalties, partnerships or subchapter S corporations.

•You had interest, dividends or capital gains or capital losses. (However, if your only interest is from a Massachusetts bank, you may still be eligible to use the program.)

•You claim certain special tax breaks, such as the senior circuit-breaker tax credit (which is essentially part of a statewide property-tax relief program).

As a consequence, many taxpayers will have to find another way to file their Massachusetts returns, said Robert J. Sclama, who teaches taxation at Bryant University’s program for financial planners.

The new Massachusetts online program “seems to be only for [people] who file a basic return,” such as someone whose only source of income is from a job (and perhaps some interest from a Massachusetts bank), said Sclama, who runs his own tax-consulting and financial-planning practice in North Providence.

As a result, the program might appeal mainly to those with low incomes who have straightforward returns, Sclama said.

The online program, called “WebFile for Income,” performs math calculations. And if a taxpayer is interrupted or otherwise cannot complete a return while online, the program saves the work and makes it available for later retrieval, the state agency said. The program also tracks a taxpayer’s refunds and payments, the agency said.

When a return is completed, the WebFile program provides taxpayers with a printable receipt to confirm that their information was successfully received by the agency. Taxpayers may log into their accounts to view a printable summary or view details of the tax data submitted, the agency said.

The Massachusetts Telefile system has been around since 1994, but its popularity has waned as computer use has spread, the agency said.

In addition, Telefile technology was unable to stay current with changes in Massachusetts tax law, including the new filing requirements involving health insurance, the agency said.

The agency offered a free online filing program several years ago, but set it aside at about the time that the Internal Revenue Service began offering its own free tax-preparation and electronic filing program, known as Free File.

The IRS later this week is to present details about this season’s version of the Free File program, which generally lets certain taxpayers prepare and file their federal returns online at no charge.

Free File is not offered directly by the IRS. Instead, the agency’s Web site serves as a portal through which taxpayers may choose a free tax preparation program offered mainly by software preparation firms.

One criticism of Free File is that it allows for the free preparation and electronic filing of federal returns, but not necessarily of state returns. A number of vendors taking part in Free File charge a fee to participants who want to file state returns.

More information about the Massachusetts online program is available on the state Department of Revenue’s Web site:

www.mass.gov/dor

ndowning@projo.com