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The official start date of this year’s tax filing season will be Jan. 27, the IRS said Friday.
This is the first day the agency will begin accepting and processing 2024 income tax returns.
“This has been a historic period of improvement for the IRS, and people will see additional tools and features to help them file their taxes this tax season,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a statement.
Such improvements include expanded use of online and voice chatbots when filers call the IRS with questions.
The official deadline to file your 2024 return will be April 15, the agency noted.
But not all people who are required to file will have to meet that deadline. In fact, millions of Americans won’t need it this year.
That’s because your filing deadline may be different if you live or do business in a federally declared disaster area. You will receive an automatic extension to file as well as pay any remaining federal income tax you may owe. (The IRS compiles a list of those areas and the corresponding tax filing deadlines here.)
For example, the IRS said Friday that because of wildfires and straight-line winds in Southern California this week, “individuals and families who reside or have a business in Los Angeles County” will receive tax relief for a variety of filing deadlines and payment. which would otherwise occur between January 7 and October 15. They now have until Oct. 15 to file and pay what they owe during that period, including their 2024 taxes.
Similarly, due to the devastation caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, all taxpayers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, as well as parts of Tennessee and Virginia, have until May 1 to file their 2024 returns and pay any taxes. due, according to the IRS.
If you’re not in a group that gets an automatic extension but can’t submit by mid-April, you can apply for an automatic six-month extension by April 15. If you don’t and it turns out you still owe money, you’ll be hit with a late penalty if your return is late. And if you owe money, know that an extension on file is not an extension to be paid. Your payment is still due on April 15th. If you don’t pay by then, you’ll also be subject to late fees.
The Direct File program expands to 25 countries
The agency said Friday that its Direct File pilot program will now be open in 25 states, up from 12 when it started last year. The program allows eligible tax filers to file their taxes directly with the IRS for free, starting January 27th.
The states where the live file is now available are: Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington State, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
The IRS said the program this year will cover more tax situations than before, including for filers claiming the child and dependent care credit, for example.
The IRS also announced that starting today — January 10 — anyone who qualifies to file their return for free through any of the IRS’s private sector Free File partners can do so.
“This year, eight private sector partners will offer web-based tax software products to taxpayers with adjusted gross income (AGI) of $84,000 or less in 2024. In addition, one partner will offer a product in Spanish,” the agency said in a release.
He also noted that each of the private sector partners has its own eligibility criteria based on factors such as age, income and state residency, but added that all offer “active duty military personnel with an AGI of $84,000 or more few in 2024, free.Tax preparation and filing using the free IRS file.
If you expect to receive a refund and don’t file it on time, you won’t face a penalty. But you won’t get your refund until you file.
Most all US tax filers usually receive a refund, which the IRS usually issues within 21 days of receiving your return. But the agency notes on its website that if you’re claiming an Earned Income Tax Credit, the IRS cannot by law issue an EITC-related refund before mid-February.
Last year, out of nearly 161.5 million returns filed, the IRS issued more than 103 million refunds. The average refund was more than $3,100, Werfel said in a press call.
To find out how soon you’re likely to get your refund after you’ve filed your return, you can use the agency’s Where’s My Refund tool. But in general, “filing electronically and choosing direct deposit is the best way to get your refund quickly,” Werfel said in a press call.
Some filers may also receive a special audit from the IRS in the coming weeks. Just before Christmas, the agency announced that it is sending payments to 1 million filers it determined were eligible for the 2021 recovery deduction credit, but who hadn’t claimed it on their returns for that year.
