2024 Tax Filing Season Has Begun; Here's All You Need To Know

The tax season for 2024 kicked off on Monday, with a few changes and the rollout of the government's new pilot tax filing service. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Direct File pilot can potentially help millions of Americans do their taxes without any external help. Another good news for people is that they could see bigger refunds this year, as compared to the previous year when tax refunds were reduced. Here’s all you need to know about filing taxes for 2024.

How soon can people file taxes?

Citizens can start filing taxes from January 29 or whenever they have the right tax forms. Several tax prep services have already rolled out their software for the 2024 tax filing season. Taxpayers must ensure they have forms like W-2 or 1099-NEC, which have been scheduled to be sent out by the end of January. Thus, it is recommended to wait till all forms are received to avoid making amendments to tax returns.

It is recommended by the IRS to use the official tax preparation software to e-file for the easiest and most accurate returns.

IRS Direct File system pilot

This year, the IRS is rolling out the free Direct File system as an alternative option for filing taxes for citizens in 12 states. These include California, Arizona, Massachusetts, Florida, New York, New Hampshire, Nevada, Tennessee, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming, and Washington, per an Axios report. Taxpayers who have relatively simple tax returns will be eligible to participate in the pilot program that is set to make filing easier and more accessible.

IRS Free File income limit for 2024

The IRS Free File program allows eligible taxpayers to get help with filing their taxes from name-brand companies at no cost. The program opened on January 12 and the income limit to qualify for the service has been increased to $79,000 for 2023 tax returns, as per NASDAQ.

Tax refund calculator for 2024

The simplest way to check tax refunds is to plug in the income and other data into a 2024 tax refund calculator. These are offered by several tax prep companies such as H&R Block as well as financial sites such as Nerdwallet.

Key Information on Tax Refund for 2024

This year, due to the annual tax adjustments, new tax brackets, an increased standard deduction, and higher limits to 401(k) plans will be lowering income taxes for many Americans, as per Axios. Thus, the tax refund amount is set to increase.

Mark Jaeger, vice president of tax operations at TaxAct, told CBS that homeowners who utilized the expanded home energy tax credits may get a bigger refund, along with those whose incomes didn't keep up with inflation.

Further, low-income families with children may see better returns given the rules of the Earned Income Tax Credit. However, Social Security beneficiaries may get hit with higher taxes, because the threshold above which retirees must pay taxes on their social security hasn’t been adjusted for inflation, as per Jaeger.

IRS tax deadline 2024

For most taxpayers in the country, April 15 is the tax filing deadline. This is for filing personal federal tax returns, and for paying any taxes owed or to request an extension.

However, for taxpayers living in Maine or Massachusetts, the deadline is April 17 because of the Patriot's Day and Emancipation Day holidays. Further, the taxpayers located in federally declared disaster areas may have additional time to file as well. This year, the IRS said it expects more than 128.7 million individual tax returns to be filed by the deadline.

IRS tax refund schedule

The IRS says it issues most refunds in less than 21 days. However, taxpayers should not rely on a certain date for tax refunds. The refund status updates appear 24 hours after e-filing on the Where's My Refund tool.