IRS plans to start tax season on Jan. 29

Tax filing season will officially begin on Monday, Jan. 29, 2024, the Internal Revenue Service said Monday.

The agency will start accepting and processing tax returns that day, and the IRS is anticipating it will receive over 128.7 million individual tax returns by the April 15, 2024, tax deadline.

While Jan. 29 will be the first day that the IRS will begin accepting and processing returns, the IRS noted that taxpayers and tax professionals can start submitting returns before that date. Tax software companies will accept electronic submissions and hold them until the IRS starts processing them later in the month. The IRS Free File service will be available on IRS.gov starting Jan. 12 in advance of the filing season opening. The IRS is also planning to roll out its free Direct File pilot in phases as final testing is completed and it’s expected to be widely available in mid-March to eligible taxpayers in participating states. 

In October, the IRS announced it plans to run a limited pilot test of its free online tax system in 13 states next tax season, but it will only support certain tax credits.

The IRS hopes to use the extra funding it received from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to continue improving its services after a mostly smooth tax season last year. However, the agency’s funding stream is once again coming under threat after a new deal negotiated over the weekend by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, that would accelerate $10 billion in cuts to the IRS’s budget to avert a government shutdown.

“As our transformation efforts take hold, taxpayers will continue to see marked improvement in IRS operations in the upcoming filing season,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel in a statement. “IRS employees are working hard to make sure that new funding is used to help taxpayers by making the process of preparing and filing taxes easier.”   

Some of the extra tools and resources being offered this tax season include:

• Expanded in-person service at newly opened or reopened Taxpayer Assistance Centers). The IRS also plans to offer extended hours at many TACs nationwide;
• Increased help on the toll-free line and an expanded customer call back feature designed to significantly reduce wait times; 
• Improvements to the online “Where’s My Refund” tool that will enable taxpayers to see more detailed refund status messages in plain language. Taxpayers will get clearer and more detailed updates, including whether the IRS needs them to respond to a letter requesting additional information. 
• Improved paperless processing that will allow taxpayers to submit all correspondence, non-tax forms and responses to notices digitally and will be able to e-File 20 additional tax forms. This will enable up to 125 million paper documents to be submitted digitally per year.
• An improved IRS Individual Online Account that includes chat, the option to schedule and cancel future payments, modify payment plans and validate and save bank accounts.
• A new, pilot tax filing service known as Direct File that gives eligible taxpayers the ability to file their 2023 federal tax returns online, for free, directly with the IRS. The program will be rolled out in phases and is expected to be widely available in mid-March. For more information about eligibility, scope and the participating states, see Direct File.

For most taxpayers, the deadline to file their personal federal tax return, pay any tax owed or request an extension to file is Monday, April 15, 2024. However, taxpayers who live in Maine or Massachusetts have until April 17, 2024, thanks to the Patriot’s Day and Emancipation Day holidays. If a taxpayer lives in a federally declared disaster area, they also can get extra time to file.