IRS to open 2026 filing season Jan. 26

The Internal Revenue Service said Monday, Jan. 26 would be the opening day of the 2026 tax-filing season for individual returns. 

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Electronic filing of business returns is set to start earlier on Sunday, Jan. 13 at 9:00 a.m., according to an IRS alert. The IRS Free File program will begin accepting individual tax returns starting Friday, Jan. 9 for qualified taxpayers. Taxpayers who are comfortable preparing their own taxes can use IRS Free File Fillable Forms starting Jan. 26, regardless of income.

A number of new provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act have recently taken effect, including deductions for income from tips and overtime, an enhanced deduction for seniors, and a deduction for interest on car loans for vehicles made in the U.S. Taxpayers can use a new Schedule 1-A to claim those recent tax deductions.

“President Trump is committed to the taxpayers of this country and improving upon the successful tax filing season in 2025,” said Treasury secretary and acting IRS commissioner Scott Bessent in a statement Thursday. “Prior to the passage of the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, which delivered working families tax cuts, Treasury and IRS were diligently preparing to update forms and processes for the benefit of hardworking Americans, and I am confident in our ability to deliver results and drive growth for businesses and consumers alike.”

The IRS is offering online tools and resources to help taxpayers, although its Direct File free tax preparation program has been eliminated this year. Taxpayers can access their individual online account information, including balance due, payments made or scheduled, tax records and more. The Where’s My Refund tool will show information about 24 hours after e-filing a current-year return, or four weeks after filing a paper return. This year, parents, guardians and other authorized individuals will be able to set up a new kind of individual retirement account known as a Trump Account for their children at trumpaccounts.gov.

“The Internal Revenue Service is ready to help taxpayers meet their tax filing and payment obligations during the 2026 filing season,” said IRS CEO and Social Security Administration commissioner Frank Bisignano in a statement. “As always, the IRS workforce remains vigilant and dedicated to their mission to serve the American taxpaying public. At the same time, IRS information systems have been updated to incorporate the new tax laws and are ready to efficiently and effectively process taxpayer returns during the filing season.”

However, the IRS will need to manage tax season after an approximately 25% reduction in its workforce over the past year and cutbacks in its technology modernization efforts. Further budget cuts may be planned later this year with the prospect of another possible funding lapse at the end of January if Congress can’t agree on a continuing resolution to avoid another government shutdown. Some IRS employees who accepted voluntary buyouts and early retirements last year under the IRS’s Deferred Resignation Programs are still waiting months later to get paid.