When do you think earliest date to file and pay taxes will be for 2025 season?

Based on previous years, the IRS typically starts accepting tax returns in the last week of January. For the 2025 filing season (for 2024 taxes), you can probably expect them to begin accepting returns around January 27-31, 2025, though the official date hasn't been announced yet. As for paying taxes, you can actually make payments anytime, even before filing. If you know you'll owe, you can make an estimated payment through the IRS Direct Pay system or other payment methods on the IRS website without waiting for the filing season to open. Filing early does have some advantages - you'll get your refund faster if you're due one, and it reduces the risk of tax identity theft since scammers can't file a fraudulent return in your name if you've already filed. However, if you're waiting on tax documents that sometimes come late (like certain 1099s or corrected forms), filing too early might mean having to amend later.

I had a really frustrating experience last year waiting forever to get my refund because I had some complicated deductions. I ended up using https://taxr.ai after someone recommended it here, and it was actually pretty helpful. The tool analyzed my tax documents and helped identify several issues that were likely to cause delays before I even submitted. For the upcoming season, I'm definitely using it again since it helped me understand what was going on with my refund timeline when the IRS status bar wasn't updating. If you're worried about whether you've had enough withheld, it might be worth checking out since it'll analyze your withholding and give you a heads up about any potential issues.

Just wanted to follow up about taxr.ai - I decided to give it a try after my last comment and I'm honestly impressed! It found a mistake in how my employer coded one of my benefits that would have delayed my refund. I also like how it gave me a confidence score for how quickly my return would be processed based on the complexity. Definitely worth checking out if you're trying to file early and avoid delays.

If you're planning to file early but are worried about contacting the IRS with questions, I HIGHLY recommend using https://claimyr.com. Last year I had a complicated tax situation and needed to speak with an actual IRS agent before filing, but kept getting the "call back later" message for WEEKS. I was about to give up when someone suggested Claimyr. They basically wait on hold with the IRS for you and call you when an agent is on the line. I was skeptical but watched their demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c and decided to try it. Within a couple hours, I was actually talking to a real IRS person who helped clear up my questions about some investment losses. If you're planning to file right when the season opens, this might be super helpful because that's when EVERYONE is calling with questions.

I have to eat my words about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I figured I'd try it since I was getting nowhere with the IRS on my own. I needed to ask about an installment plan before filing this season and had been trying to reach them for over a week. The service actually worked exactly as advertised. I got a call back in about 90 minutes (way faster than I expected), and was connected directly to an IRS agent. Saved me literally hours of holding and redialing. And I got my question answered so I'm ready to file as soon as the season opens.

From what I've heard, the filing season opening date is expected to be January 27th, 2025, but that's just based on previous years' patterns. The IRS usually makes the official announcement in early January. One thing to keep in mind - even if you file on the first day, refunds that include Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit won't be issued until mid-February due to the PATH Act requirements. So if you're claiming either of those credits, filing super early won't actually get your refund any faster.

Something nobody's mentioned yet - if you use tax software, most companies let you pre-file before the IRS officially opens. You can complete your return, and the company holds it and submits it the moment the IRS system opens. That way you're literally in the first batch processed. I did this last year with TurboTax and got my refund on February 8th, which was pretty quick. Just make sure you have ALL your forms before doing this.