💲 IRS announces critical tax filing dates
💲 When can you file Federal and NJ returns?
💲 How fast can you expect your refund?


Employers have begun sending out 2024 W-2 wage statements, but the IRS and New Jersey are not yet accepting tax returns.

Officially, the 2025 tax filing season begins on Monday, Jan. 27, according to the IRS. New Jersey generally follows the same schedule.

That is the first day you will be able to file your state and federal returns electronically.

The deadline to file your 2024 return is Tuesday, April 15.

The IRS expects more than 140 million individual tax returns for tax year 2024, with most being E-filed.

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What if I don't have all my wage statements?

Employers and wage payers are required to send you and electronic or paper W-2 wage statement by Friday, Jan 31.

Non-employment income for freelance and independent contract work must be reported on Form 1099–NEC. The deadline to mail 1099s to taxpayers is also Friday, Jan. 31.

If W-2s or 1099s are being mailed to employees or independent contractors, they must be postmarked no later than Jan. 31.

IRS offers more help/options for filers

The IRS says the 2025 tax filing season will "reflect continued IRS progress to modernize and add new tools and features to help taxpayers.

Improvements include more access to tax account information from text and voice virtual assistants, expanded features on the IRS Individual Online Account, more access to dozens of tax forms through cell phones and tablets and expanded alerts for scams and schemes that threaten taxpayers.

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“This has been a historic period of improvement for the IRS, and people will see additional tools and features to help them with filing their taxes this tax season,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel in a news release.

According to the IRS, the past two filing seasons saw levels of service at roughly 85% and wait times averaging less than 5 minutes on the main phone lines, as well as significant increases in the number of taxpayers served at Taxpayer Assistance Centers across the country.

Filers, the IRS claims, can expect similar response times for this season.

To aid in preparing your tax documents, the IRS has a "Get Ready" page at IRS.gov designed to help you streamline the filing process. It also detailed the resources available to interact with the IRS before, during and after filing their federal tax return.

IRS expands Direct File program

In addition to helplines and chatbots to answer filing questions, the IRS offers two programs to assist tax filers for free.

Direct File:

Direct File is a web-based service that works on mobile phones, laptops, tablets or desktop computers. Through a series of questions, it will guide you through preparing you federal tax return step-by-step. This is similar to commercially available tax preparation software. It is available in New Jersey and 24 other states.

However, the assistance is with less complicated returns and there are income limitations.

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You can't use Direct File if your wages are more than $200,000 ($168,600 if you had more than one employer) or you file as Married Filing Jointly, and your spouse's wages are more than $200,000 ($168,600 if your spouse had more than one employer).

According to the IRS:

This year, Direct File users can try a new chat bot to help guide them through the eligibility checker. Live chat will again be available in English and Spanish, and users can opt into additional authentication and verification, which will allow customer service representatives to provide more information.

Also, this year, Direct File will cover more tax situations. During the pilot, Direct File supported taxpayers claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Credit for Other Dependents.

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This year, Direct File will also cover taxpayers claiming the:

✔ Child and Dependent Care Credit
✔ Premium Tax Credit
✔ Credit for the Elderly and Disabled
✔ Retirement Savings Contribution Credits

In addition to covering taxpayers claiming the standard deduction and deductions for student loan interest and educator expenses, this year, Direct File will support taxpayers claiming deductions for Health Savings Accounts.

Direct File does not assist with the filing of state returns.

IRS Free File

"Free File" is actually the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program.

This program offers free income tax preparation and assistance to taxpayers whose gross income is $60,000 a year or less.

The IRS “Free File” program offers free tax prep software to file your own return if you earn $73,000 a year or less.

Free File does not assist with the filing of state returns.

When can I expect my refund?

In general, most refunds are issued in less than 21 calendar days.

The fastest way to get a refund is by filing your return electronically.

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Refund information is normally available after four weeks for taxpayers who filed a paper return

According to the IRS, 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.

Once you have filed your return and it is accepted by the IRS, you can access the "Where's my Refund" tool at the IRS website.

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