The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has officially designated January 27 as the commencement date for the 2025 tax season, predicting that over 140 million tax returns will be submitted by the April 15 deadline.

This announcement comes at a time when the IRS is undergoing significant reforms to enhance its technology and customer service infrastructure, benefiting from substantial financial investment through the Inflation Reduction Act, which was enacted in August 2022.

The IRS is expanding its Direct File program that permits taxpayers to file their returns directly with the agency at no cost. This program will be accessible to individuals in 25 states starting January 27, an increase from 12 states that participated in last year’s pilot initiative.

During the 2024 pilot program, those in certain states with straightforward W-2 forms were able to calculate and submit their returns directly to the IRS. Reports indicate that participants in the program claimed over $90 million in refunds.

The agency anticipates that the majority of refunds will be processed in fewer than 21 days. Taxpayers can utilize the “Where’s My Refund?” tool to monitor their 2024 income tax refund status within 24 hours of electronic filing. For those who file a paper return, refund details typically become available after four weeks.

The IRS has also declared its intention to sustain the service levels achieved in prior years, including maintaining wait times for assistance to under five minutes.

Among the key objectives for the upcoming tax season are to provide 10,000 additional extended office hours and to enhance the IRS’s outreach to rural communities by 20%, thus increasing the number of tax returns prepared. The agency is also making strides to simplify communications to ensure they are easier to understand.

IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel has highlighted the agency’s efforts to raise awareness regarding the Earned Income Tax Credit, stressing that nearly one-fifth of eligible taxpayers do not claim it due to a lack of awareness about its availability or eligibility criteria.

As in previous years, the IRS advises taxpayers to remain vigilant against tax fraud, as scammers often emerge during tax season, offering false promises of assistance or issuing bogus threats regarding unpaid penalties. Taxpayers can visit the IRS website and search for “scams” for the most current information.

Thanks to multi-year supplemental funding from Congress, the IRS can keep its staff levels stable, according to the commissioner, who cautioned that the IRS’s technological advancements would stagnate if this funding were to cease.

“This has been a historic period of improvement for the IRS,” Commissioner Werfel noted, emphasizing that further advancements are possible with continued investment in the tax system.