The IRS on Friday announced Jan. 27 as the official start date of the 2025 tax season, and expects more than 140 million tax returns to be filed by the April 15 tax deadline.
The announcement comes with agency in the midst of a massive overhaul, attempting to improve its technology and customer service processes with tens of billions of dollars allocated to the agency through Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law in August 2022.
The IRS said it is expanding its program that allows people to file their taxes directly with the agency for free. The federal tax collector's Direct File program, which allows taxpayers to calculate and submit their returns to the government directly without using commercial tax preparation software, will be available to taxpayers in 25 states starting Jan. 27, up from 12 states that were part of last year's pilot program.
The pilot program in 2024 allowed people in certain states with very simple W-2s to calculate and submit their returns directly to the IRS. Those using the program claimed more than $90 million in refunds, the IRS said in October.
The IRS expects most refunds to be issued in less than 21 days. The agency says taxpayers can use Where's My Refund? to check the status of their 2024 income tax refund within 24 hours of e-filing. Refund information is normally available after four weeks for taxpayers who filed a paper return.
