IRS Tax Refunds Shutdown 2024 – When Do The IRS Open 2024?

IRS has announced the official start date when the agency will start accepting and processing 2023 tax returns, which is 29 Jan 2024. In order to assist tax professionals, the IRS is launching a special Tax Professional Awareness Week on what to expect during the filing season.

Deadline For Filing The Return

The deadline for electronically filing an application is 15 April 2024. People who need extra time can also request an extension until mid-October. In federally declared disaster areas, people have more time to file their returns.

When Will The Taxpayers Get Their Refund

The taxpayers will get their refund within 29 days after filing the application. But it is not guaranteed as the IRS says some applications need more time to get reviewed, so it may extend also. Taxpayers can check the status of their refund on the IRS.gov website or the IRS2Go app. Refund status can be tracked 24 hours after filing a return electronically.

IRS has suggested people E-file their returns as paper returns may take longer for the IRS to process.

IRS’s Own Tax Filing Service

IRS Direct File is introduced by the IRS as its own filing service. It will be widely available by mid-March in 13 participating states like Florida, California, New York, Nevada, Texas, Washington, New Hampshire, Alaska, Arizona, South Dakota, Tennessee, Wyoming, and Massachusetts, as the service will be rolling out in phases. 

E-Filing Shutdown 
Image Source – Rajasthan BSC

E-Filing Shutdown 

Taxpayers can e-file their returns for the current and 2 prior years, and other prior returns need to be paper filed. This is because there is an annual maintenance period of the agency during which certain types of returns cannot be filed electronically. This is called a cutover schedule or E-filling shutdown.  To prepare for the next tax year, the IRS usually shuts down their E-file servers in November and December.

IRS had suggested taxpayers take all the important actions in December to help them file their 2023 returns in January 2024.

Some of the important dates for the 2024 tax season include- 

  • 29 January, when the filing of individual tax returns will start.
  • April 15 is the deadline for filing a tax return or for requesting an extension.
  • October 15 is the due date for extension filters.

IRS also said that it will be updating its Where’s My Refund tool on the website to help taxpayers get more detailed information about their return filing and refunds.

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