The IRS on Friday announced Jan. 27 as the official start date for 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 the agency in the midst of a massive overhaul, trying to improve its technology and customer service processes with tens of billions of dollars allocated to the agency through the Democratic 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. Federal Tax Collector Direct File programwhich allows taxpayers to calculate and file their returns directly with the government 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.
A 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 who used 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 benefit Where is my refund? to check the status of their 2024 income tax return within 24 hours of e-filing. Refund information is usually available after four weeks for taxpayers who submitted a paper return.
The agency also said it expects to maintain the level of service achieved in the past, including waiting times of less than 5 minutes for assistance.
Two goals for the upcoming tax filing season are to offer 10,000 extended office hours and expand the IRS rural program by 20%, increasing the number of returns prepared. The agency said it is also continuing to simplify notices to make the language easier to understand.
IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel also said the IRS is working to improve public awareness of the Earned Income Tax Credit, saying nearly 1 in 5 qualified taxpayers don’t claim it because they don’t know about it or don’t realize they qualify.
As in years past, the IRS is also urging filers to protect themselves from tax fraud, saying bad actors increase during filing season, making false promises of tax help or false threats to get people to pay penalties they don’t owe. Filers can visit IRS.gov and search “scams” for the latest information.
Multi-year additional funding provided by Congress allows the IRS to maintain current staffing levels, the commissioner said in the call, adding that IRS technology and tools will stagnate if funding is cut.
