Prepare for tax season: The IRS just announced that filing will officially open on Jan. 27.
Like last yr, the 2025 tax season will begin on the last Monday of January, but this yr’s start date is 2 days earlier on the calendar.
The start of tax season opens a 78-day window for over 140 million taxpayers to file individual tax returns for the 2024 tax yr, covering income earned from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 of last yr.
In a news release, the IRS touted that this filing season “will feature expanded and enhanced tools to assist taxpayers because of this of the agency’s historic modernization efforts.” Those include text and virtual assistants that may offer tax help in addition to recent options for completing tax forms on mobile phones.
But whether you are doing all of your taxes online or with a tax skilled, the agency says to be looking out for dangerous tax scams. Taxpayers are sometimes targeted by phishing attempts this time of yr, using text messages and emails that claim to be from the IRS. These messages are all the time fake: The IRS won’t ever reach out to taxpayers via phone, text or email.
The way to prepare for tax season
With the official begin to tax season now just two weeks away, it’s time to start out compiling the documents you are going to need. Keep an eye fixed out in your W-2 specifically: Employers are imagined to send those forms out by Jan. 31.
Tax preparation tools like TurboTax even have calculator tools that may provide you with early estimates of how much it’s possible you’ll owe — or what you possibly can expect to get back in a tax refund.
Want to essentially get a head start? You possibly can even prepare your taxes with online software now and put your return in a queue to be formally filed when the IRS starts accepting them.
The IRS Free File program is already open. Through a partnership with eight tax preparation firms, hundreds of thousands of taxpayers qualify to do their taxes online without charge. Nonetheless, your adjusted gross income should be $84,000 or less to be eligible.
Alternatively, taxpayers in 25 states can use Direct File, the agency’s own free guided tax-filing software. Last yr, residents of only 12 states were capable of use a pilot version of this system. Direct File will open on Jan. 27 with the beginning of tax season.
Before you file taxes, it’s possible you’ll must do some math to see if it is sensible to itemize your taxes. For the 2024 tax yr, most taxpayers will take the standard deduction of $14,600 for single filers, $21,900 for heads of households and $29,200 for married couples filing jointly. But individuals with allowable deductions exceeding those amounts should normally itemize their taxes. It’s an extended process, but it’s possible you’ll get a bigger refund or reduce your tax bill.
When are taxes due in 2025?
In 2025, Tax Day is April 15. You need to file your taxes prematurely of the midnight deadline unless you file for an automatic extension using Form 4868. Nonetheless, consider that while an extension delays your filing deadline to Oct. 15, it doesn’t extend the time you will have to pay any taxes owed to the IRS.
Some taxpayers who live in federally declared disaster areas could have additional time to file. This includes individuals and businesses in Los Angeles County, where wildfires are blazing, and areas affected by the most important hurricanes of 2024. You possibly can check if you will have a later filing deadline on the IRS website.
When will I get my tax refund?
The IRS says most refunds are issued inside 21 days, but it will probably take more time in case you file on paper.
In each of the past two years, over 100 million tax refunds were issued at a median amount of over $3,000. While many taxpayers will receive a pleasant check again this yr, the IRS advises against counting on a refund by a certain date to pay bills as delays are possible.
Electronically filing your taxes and choosing direct deposit because the delivery method will assist you to receive your money faster. To trace the status of your refund, you should use the Where’s My Refund? tool. You will just must plug in your Social Security or taxpayer ID number, filing status and refund amount.
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2025 Tax Brackets: IRS Bumps Up Income Cutoffs and Standard Deduction