Finance
Good news for early tax filers: This is the first day you can get your 2025 tax returns
Tax season is here again. Here’s when you can finally get your return in line and why early birds might just catch a refund worm sooner.

The 2025 tax season, for which millions will pay tax on their 2024 income and earnings, begins on Monday, January 27, 2025. That will be the first day the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) begins processing tax returns submitted on or before that date. If you are looking to receive your refund as quickly as possible, you can file now to place yourself ahead in the processing queue.
For those needing a bit more time, the deadline, as usual, is April 15. If even more time is required, you can apply for an extension that will give you until October 15 to submit your return. However, the extension does not apply to any taxes due to the IRS, and unless you have been granted a grace period on the funds owed, you could begin to accrue fees and penalties. These exceptions are typically granted after natural disasters that may delay filing as records must be requested in cases where they are destroyed.
How long will it take the IRS to process returns?
If you submit your tax return early, electronically, and provide direct deposit information to the IRS for them to distribute your refund, you should receive it within twenty-one calendar days. So, if you file on January 27, you can expect to receive around Monday, February 17, 2025.
For those who mail the IRS their return, the turnaround time is much longer, taking the agency between six and twelve weeks to distribute a refund, assuming there are no errors in the materials provided to the tax authority.
Free option to file your taxes from the IRS available in half of states
This tax season, after piloting Direct File in 2024, access to the free filing software will be expanded to thirteen additional states, bringing the total to 25.
Which states will be able to use Direct File?
- Will continue to have access: Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington State and Wyoming.
- New this year: Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
In announcing the expansion, the IRS said that “new features” have been integrated into the software to make the filing process “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,” reported that tax authority earlier this month.
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