The Internal Revenue Service has announced that it will begin accepting tax returns on Jan. 27, marking the start of tax season.
Taxpayers will have until April 15 to send in their returns for 2024.
Additionally, the IRS’ free Direct File service will expand to include 25 states this tax season.
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Direct File was only available in a handful of states in 2024 as the Internal Revenue Service launched it as a pilot program. The IRS has offered free electronic filing for lower-income tax filers for years, but the scope of the program was limited. The IRS said it has not offered more extensive online filing services due to the cost of maintaining such a program.
Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington State and Wyoming were part of the initial launch. Direct File will now also be available in Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The Biden administration said that 140,000 taxpayers filed their taxes through the pilot program in the 2024 tax season, saving an estimated $5.6 million in filing costs.
“This has been a historic period of improvement for the IRS, and people will see additional tools and features to help them with filing their taxes this tax season,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. “These taxpayer-focused improvements we’ve done so far are important, but they are just the beginning of what the IRS needs to do. More can be done with continued investment in the nation’s tax system.”
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The IRS said 163.5 million Americans filed a return in 2024. Of those, 104.9 million had a refund from the IRS. The average IRS refund from the last tax season was $3,138.
Most refunds are issued in less than 21 calendar days, the IRS said.
