As we are a few days away from entering the next year, taxpayers should start the tax preparation for the 2025 tax season. The taxpayers preparing for the 2025 tax season must be thinking about when the tax season will begin.
The IRS has continued to improve its services to assist taxpayers in preparing and filing tax returns. Taxpayers wondering about the tax season beginning date and the tax filing can check every detail here.
When can I file my Taxes for 2025?
The IRS has shut down the system to prepare for the 2025 tax season and encourages US citizens to prepare for the tax filing to complete their tax responsibility. The IRS has not revealed the tax season beginning date yet, however, taxpayers can expect the announcement in the first week of Jan 2025.
According to the reports, the IRS can start the 2025 season in the third week of Jan 2025. Though the IRS has not released the tax season commencement date, the agency has released a few deadlines that taxpayers should know. Every taxpayer should be aware of these deadlines to ensure they avoid penalties, late fees, and peak-hour filing stress.
According to the IRS, taxpayers who pay the quarterly estimated tax have the deadline to file their taxes by 15 Jan 2025, whereas employers must file Form W-2 and provide a 1099 form by 31 Jan 2025. The taxpayers from disaster-affected areas can file the tax return till 01 May 2025, whereas the last day to file the IRS tax return is 15 April 2025.
| Dates | Tax Events |
| 15 Jan 2025 | 2024 tax year last quarter Estimated Tax Return |
| Between Mid-Jan and the End of Jan 2025 | Tax Season Commence |
| 15 April 2025 | Tax Deadline |
| 01 May 2025 | Tax deadline for disaster-affected area |
| 15 Oct 2025 | Extended Tax Returns Deadline |
How do you prepare for the 2025 tax season?
Many taxpayers must have started the 2025 tax season preparation to avoid delays and penalties and file their tax returns timely. The IRS has always strived to make the tax system seamless for taxpayers through various digital tools and tax services.
Taxpayers can check the IRS Get Ready page to get tips and resources from the agency itself on tax return preparation and make tax filing easier for the taxpayers. The agency has designed this series to offer the steps that taxpayers should take to prepare for the upcoming tax season and take the needed steps to avoid the peak hour filing stress.
According to the IRS, taxpayers should follow the below steps to prepare for the 2024 tax filing:
- The electronic tax services and methods are faster for the IRS tax filing, hence the agency urges the taxpayers to create or access their online account. Taxpayers with online accounts can view their past tax information to file taxes.
- Taxpayers should gather the documents that will be required to file taxes, such as Forms W-2, Form 1095-A, Form 1099, income documents, digital asset information, and others.
- The agency instructs the taxpayers to check their Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) to see if it needs to be renewed if it expires to timely renew it before the tax filing.
- You should check the withheld tax through the tax withholding estimator to determine the amount of tax withheld from your paycheck and adjust your taxes accordingly.
What should you consider when you file IRS taxes?
The IRS has mentioned some aspects that taxpayers should consider when they prepare to file taxes for the 2024 tax year, such as:
- 1099-K Form: Some taxpayers may receive the Form 1099-K as they have gotten more than $5000 in payments for goods and services in 2024 through the marketplace or payment app. The Form 1099-K form will be sent for taxpayers to report all income in the federal tax return. Hence, if you received the Form 1099-K form, you should report the third-party transactions and payment card.
- IRS has said that taxpayers should consider the life changes that may affect their tax refund as it could make them eligible for tax credits like EITC, ODC, etc.
- Taxpayers should file their tax returns early to receive the tax refund timely, however, if you have claimed the EITC/ ACTC credits with tax returns your refund may get delayed due to the PATH Act. Taxpayers should consider the tax provisions to avoid delays in their tax refund.
How can you file your taxes for 2025 faster?
According to the IRS, taxpayers can file their taxes through various ways, like mailed checks, and e-files, but the IRS encourages taxpayers to file taxes electronically as it would be faster to process, and review.
The IRS has various electronic or online tax services to file tax returns quickly, such as IRS Free File and IRS Direct File. The IRS Direct file is available to some selected states only as it was the pilot project last year which the agency has expanded this year, hence, the taxpayers are advised to check if it’s available for their area or not.
The other one IRS Free File allows certain taxpayers to file their taxes without paying any penny and use the tax preparation software tools. The IRS has collaborated with some tax preparation software tools that allow taxpayers to use them for free through IRS Free File, prepare for taxes, and file tax returns without any issues.
IRS has made tax preparation and filing easy for taxpayers and ensures that taxpayers are aware of the system. The 2025 tax season commencement will be announced soon, hence the taxpayers should prepare well to complete their tax responsibilities.