Tax Season
As of January 10th the IRS’ Free File Program is open. Direct File available starting Jan. 27 for taxpayers in 25 states.
The Internal Revenue Service announced that the nation’s 2025 tax season will start on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, and will feature expanded and enhanced tools to help taxpayers as a result of the agency’s historic modernization efforts.
The IRS expects more than 140 million individual tax returns for tax year 2024 to be filed ahead of the Tuesday, April 15 federal deadline. More than half of all tax returns are expected to be filed this year with the help of a tax profess
ional, and the IRS urges people to use a trusted tax pro to avoid potential scams and schemes.
The 2025 tax season will reflect continued IRS progress to modernize and add new tools and features to help taxpayers. Since last tax season, the improvements include more access to tax account information from text and voice virtual assistants, expanded features on the IRS Individual Online Account, more access to dozens of tax forms through cell phones and tablets, and expanded alerts for scams and schemes that threaten taxpayers.
They also expanded the features and availability of last year’s Direct File program. This year, Direct File will be available starting Jan. 27 to taxpayers in 25 states. In addition, the IRS Free File program opens today. Available only on IRS.gov, IRS Free File Guided Tax Software provides millions of taxpayers nationwide access to free software tools offered by trusted IRS Free File partners.
Direct File Opens Jan. 27 for Taxpayers in 25 States
On the first day of the filing season, Direct File will open to eligible taxpayers in 25 states to file their taxes directly with the IRS for free: 12 states that were part of the pilot last year, plus 13 new states where Direct File will be available in 2025. During last year’s pilot, Direct File was available in Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington State and Wyoming. For the 2025 tax filing season, Direct File will also be available in Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Direct File will include new features this year to make filing taxes quicker and easier. Similar to commercial tax software, a data import tool will allow taxpayers to opt-in to automatically import data from their IRS account, including personal information, the taxpayer’s IP PIN and some information from the taxpayer’s W-2.
This year, Direct File users can try a new chatbot to help guide them through the eligibility checker. Live chat will again be available in English and Spanish, and users can opt into additional authentication and verification, which will allow customer service representatives to provide more information.
Also, this year, Direct File will cover more tax situations. During the pilot, Direct File supported taxpayers claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, and Credit for Other Dependents. This year, Direct File will also cover taxpayers claiming the:
- Child and Dependent Care Credit
- Premium Tax Credit
- Credit for the Elderly and Disabled
- Retirement Savings Contribution Credits
In addition to covering taxpayers claiming the standard deduction and deductions for student loan interest and educator expenses, this year, Direct File will support taxpayers claiming deductions for Health Savings Accounts. The Treasury Department estimates that more than 30 million taxpayers will be eligible to use Direct File across the 25 states.
Direct File is a web-based service that works on mobile phones, laptops, tablets or desktop computers. It guides taxpayers through a series of questions to prepare their federal tax return step-by-step. Last year, thousands of Direct File users got help from IRS customer service representatives through a live chat feature in English and Spanish. Once taxpayers have completed their federal tax return, the Direct File system automatically guides them to state tools to complete their state tax filings.
You can find this and much more information on the IRS’ website at https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-announces-jan-27-start-to-2025-tax-filing-season-agency-continues-historic-improvements-to-expand-enhance-tools-and-filing-options-to-help-taxpayers.