Mark your calendars! Monday, Jan. 27, is the official start to the 2025 tax season, the IRS said.
That’s the first day the IRS will begin accepting tax returns for the 2024 tax year, but Americans can file their taxes even earlier to ensure their return is in the queue and among the first to be processed by the IRS come opening day, the IRS said.
If there aren’t any problems on the tax return, you’ll be among the first to get your refund check, said Mark Steber, chief tax officer at tax preparer Jackson Hewitt.
“Tax refunds, for most Americans, are the single largest pay day of the year,” Steber said. The average tax refund last year through the third week of October was $3,004, up 0.9% from the previous year, IRS data showed.
How fast are refunds issued?
Most refunds are in less than 21 calendar days, the IRS said.
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The best way to track refunds is to use the Where’s My Refund? tool within 24 hours of e-filing and updated once each night. Refund information is normally available after four weeks for taxpayers who filed a paper return.
When is Tax Day 2025?All about deductions, income brackets, credits and deadlines
The easiest, safest and fastest way to receive a refund is to file electronically (e-file) and select direct deposit. According to Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service, paper refund checks are 16 times more likely to have an issue, like the check being lost, misdirected, stolen or uncashed.
