1 in 3 Americans make this tax season mistake—here’s how to avoid it
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Tax season officially began on Jan. 27 when the Internal Revenue Service started accepting returns, and chances are you haven’t gotten around to it yet.
That’s fine; no one expects you to get up that morning and run downstairs to find your calculator and little green visor. Doing your taxes isn’t fun, and you have until April 15 to get it done.
But 31% of Americans say they’re procrastinating on preparing a return, according to financial services company IPX1031 — and tax experts say they’re making a big mistake. That’s because, whether you expect a refund or a bill, getting a surprise close to the deadline is rarely a smart move, says Ryan Losi, a certified public accountant and executive vice president with Piascik.
“It’s always nice to be able to have it buttoned down early,” he says. That way, you know “where you’re going to land.”
What’s more, filing early reduces the chances that criminals can file a return in your name to claim your refund for themselves — a form of fraud that would be devastating for millions of Americans. Nearly 4 in 10 taxpayers rely on their refund to make ends meet, according to a recent survey from Credit Karma.
But even if you’re in good shape and not worried about fraud, here’s why getting a start on your taxes early this year is likely a smart move.
For many younger Americans, procrastinating on taxes comes from a fear of the unknown. Among Gen Z filers who wait until the last minute, 26% say its because they don’t want to know what they owe, according to a recent survey from Credit Karma.
To an extent that’s understandable. Having a potential, amorphous bill looming can be scary, especially if money is tight. But putting a dollar figure on what you may owe as early as possible is the best way to deal with it, says Courtney Alev, head of tax and consumer financial advocate at Credit Karma.
“If you wait to the last minute and you’re actually getting a big tax bill instead of a refund, the deadline is there, and it’s coming, and you haven’t made a plan for how you’re going to address that,” she says.
If you prepare your taxes ASAP and find out that, indeed, you owe the IRS, you have until April 15 to make a plan, says Losi.
“Maybe you have enough set aside to pay it,” he says. “But if you don’t, now you can spend the next two months saving some of your paycheck in order to pay it.”
If you had your employer withhold too much of your pay for taxes throughout the year, you can expect a refund when you file. And for many Americans, that’s a big deal.
Not only do 37% of filers say they rely on their refund to make ends meet, but 47% plan to use their refunds to pay down debt, according to Credit Karma. In other words, millions of Americans rely on their refund to reach important financial goals. Delaying that refund could have negative ramifications, says Alev.
“If you’re putting off filing, it could put some of your other goals, like paying off your credit card, at risk,” she says.
And even if you don’t need the money urgently, you’re better off having your refund and putting it to use than letting the government hang onto it without paying you any interest. Simply put: the sooner the file, the sooner that refund money hits your bank account.
Just because you start the process of preparing your taxes early doesn’t mean you have to file them right away. There are certain taxpayers for whom it makes sense to wait awhile.
If you have a brokerage account that earned dividend income or through which you realized a capital gain this year, for instance, you may not be ready to file yet, says Losi.
“You’re going to have to wait for that brokerage statement to come in, which will likely come in early March,” he says.
The same principle applies to trust beneficiaries and owners or investors in any type of passthrough entity, such as an S-corporation, who will have to wait for their Form K-1 to arrive before filing.
But even for those people, Losi recommends at least getting the ball rolling by plugging some estimates into your tax preparation software. Plus, you’ll know which documents you need to have handy when you do file.
“You want to at least have your numbers together early — then you can decide when to actually file,” he says.
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Where is my refund? IRS tax refund schedule 2025: Here’s when to expect it
Tax filing season is in full gear as some people are already waiting and wondering when their refund will arrive. Here’s what to know.
The IRS has an online tool called ‘Where’s My Refund’ that allows you to check on the status of your refund, click here.
The online tool requires you to enter your Social Security Number, filing status and exact refund amount on the return. It will then respond with a return received (processing), refund approved (preparing to issue refund by date shown) or refund sent (send to your bank or in the mail).
If your return was accepted — you will know it has if you see a “Refund Sent” alert when you check your tax return status online — you won’t have to wait too long for the funds to show up in your account.
According to the IRS, It could take five days for your refund to show in your bank account, and up to several weeks for your check to arrive in the mail.
Most states have dedicated online portals for tracking income tax returns.
The Pennsylvania online portal for state tax refund can be accessed by clicking here to check the status of your state refund. Note that you refund status will be made available roughly four weeks after filing an electronic return, and up to 12 weeks if you filed a paper return.
After you enter your Social Security number and expected refund amount, you will receive a status update on your return.
To check on Delaware online portal for state tax refund, click here.
Refunds are paid when taxpayers have too much tax withheld from their paycheck during the year.
Last year, the average refund for federal taxes topped $3,200, according to IRS data.
Direct File is a new IRS program that allows millions of Americans with uncomplicated taxes to file returns at no cost.
Piloted in a dozen states last year, Direct File expanded to 25 states in 2025. The full list: Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
The IRS says 30 million taxpayers qualify to use the free service this year — pretty much anyone with a relatively straightforward return. The Direct File site will help you decide if you are eligible.
“Above all, our goal is to improve the experience of tax filing itself and help taxpayers meet their obligations quickly and easily,” said Danny Werfel, the now-former IRS commissioner, in a statement.
How to check on my IRS refund status?
When will my refund arrive?
How to check on my state refund status?
How much is my 2025 refund?
How do I file my taxes for free? What is IRS Direct File?
Tax refunds are flowing, but IRS is seeing fewer early returns filed so far this season
Tax season continued its sluggish start into early February, but tax refunds continued to steadily roll out the door.
Every tax season has its own quirks and nuances. Oddly enough, though, the Internal Revenue Service has received 7.7% fewer returns so far this year. The agency also has processed 7.6% fewer returns through Feb. 7, according to the latest data published Friday.
Why the delays?
A variety of factors could be coming into play and keeping many people from filing their returns early in the game, including misleading online tax advice via social media, a flood of 1099-K forms, political rancor, some delayed deadlines in states hit by federal disasters, and the calendar itself.
The average federal income tax refund was $2,065 during this first two weeks of this year’s tax season through Feb. 7, according to the IRS. That’s up 18.6% from last year’s tax season through Feb. 9, 2024.
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Many times, those filing tax returns in late January and early February want to receive their refund cash as early as possible.
If you file your federal income tax return on Feb. 17, for example, you might anticipate a tax refund by Feb. 28 if you e-file, request that the refund by directly deposited into a bank account and the IRS has no problems with the return.
If you e-file the return Feb. 17 but want a paper refund check mailed to you, you could have to wait until March 7, according to estimates by CPA Practice Advisor, a resource for tax professionals. The publication notes that filing during peak season, which runs from late March through April 15, can result in slightly longer waits.
Many people who claim the earned income tax credit or the additional child tax credit need to anticipate delays. The IRS said taxpayers claiming those credits can expect to get refunds by March 3. That’s if you file your return online, opt to get your refund by direct deposit, and have no issues with your tax return.
Some taxpayers, the IRS said, may receive their income tax refunds a few days earlier. The IRS “Where’s My Refund?” tool is expected to show an updated status by Feb. 22 for most early filers who claimed the earned income tax credit or the additional child tax credit.
More:Michigan 2025 tax season: Where’s my refund? How to track your return online
More:Shady tax scams circulating on social media could bring big penalties, delayed refunds
The IRS expects filing season numbers to even out as more tax returns come in during the weeks ahead and as the April 15 filing deadline for most taxpayers approaches.
It’s hard to judge why people could be putting off filing their taxes. But one reason could be that the new Trump administration isn’t like the first Trump administration. We’re seeing a lot of swift moves and, in some cases, outright chaos as President Donald Trump attempts to cut spending, offers buyouts and takes other dramatic steps to downsize the federal government.
After taking office Jan. 20, Trump issued a slew of executive orders. And some people wrongly might have thought that key tax breaks could hit their 2024 returns simply by executive order. It’s not true.
Some social media buzz even suggested that Trump’s proposed “External Revenue Agency” would replace the IRS and eliminate income taxes. But Trump did not eliminate the IRS or put an end to income taxes.
The tax breaks proposed on the campaign trail, such as no taxes on tips, are highly unlikely to come into play on 2024 returns retroactively the closer we get to April.
Mark Steber, chief tax officer at Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, said some bad information is floating on social media suggesting that taxpayers “wait and the IRS may go away.” Others suggest that changes will hit the IRS “and you will not owe taxes.”
Steber said that kind of silliness could have people delaying filing their tax returns for no good reason.
“I see virtually no chance of retroactive tax administration on political promises from the election,” Steber said.
“If the changes happen at all, political statements rarely end up exactly as tax law changes and let alone retroactively,” he said.
It’s just hard to do, he added.
Tax law changes require a lot of agreement in Congress, where Republicans have slim majorities in both the House and Senate. There’s much uncertainty about what will actually be proposed until Republicans in Congress get behind a particular tax plan.
“I think the 2026 tax year be the first year of real substantive change,” Steber said. If so, taxpayers could see those changes when they file 2026 returns in 2027.
Several other factors, beyond potential tax cuts, could be contributing to a bit of a slowdown in the early tax season. They include:
The 2025 tax season started two days earlier in 2025 than 2024, which one might imagine would generate more filings by now. But it didn’t. The IRS has an explanation for that one.
This year, the IRS began accepting and processing e-filed income tax returns for individuals starting Jan. 27. Last year’s tax season started Jan. 29 and the initial week’s data ran through Feb. 2.
The IRS reasoned initially that many people this year didn’t file in the first week because they might have still been waiting for key paperwork. Theoretically, the Jan. 29 kickoff last year was closer to a Jan. 31 deadline for W-2 forms to be issued by employers. The W-2 is a key form that reports income and tax withholdings. It’s possible people had more paperwork in hand at the start of the season last year.
Many times, of course, tax filers now are able to get W-2 information online and avoid waiting for the documents to be sent in the mail.
The latest numbers do show improvements from the first week when the IRS processed 15.8% fewer returns than a year ago. During that week, the IRS reported that it received 14% fewer returns during the first week of the tax season compared with last year.
More gig workers are likely to receive a 1099-K this year that pinpoints how much money they made from these short-term jobs in 2024 — and some could be taking more time with their tax returns to figure out what to do.
Profits on the sale of things, like concert tickets, and money earned working a side hustle, such as delivering food, were always taxable. This year, though, some changes in the reporting rules mean more more people are getting tax forms that track the money.
Steber, at Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, said the larger number of tax forms, such as 1099-K forms and other forms, could be creating a feeling among some people that it’s better to “wait until I have all my stuff.”
And that’s a good idea because you want to file an accurate return.
The 1099-K will usually arrive in late January or early February.
It wouldn’t surprise me if many people are holding back to see what they need to do with a 1099-K if they never had to deal with one in the past.
This year, taxpayers will receive a 1099-K from payment card companies, payment apps, and online marketplaces when the amount of their business transactions during 2024 was more than $5,000.
Under the old standard, the 1099-K was only sent to those who had received more than $20,000 and had more than 200 transactions on third-party payment processing platforms in 2023 and earlier years.
The IRS receives these documents, too, meaning that a lower threshold means a bigger paper trail for 2024 income.
This same $5,000 threshold could apply if you sold Taylor Swift or Detroit Lions tickets through an online marketplace, such as StubHub, in 2024. The profit you made on those tickets would be taxable.
The IRS is dealing with its own disruptions this tax season, too. The White House initiated a hiring freeze at the IRS, which could be much longer than those hiring freezes facing other federal agencies.
Operations at the IRS are reportedly under review by Elon Musk’s cost-cutting group, according to reports in Reuters and elsewhere.
Trump sent an email Saturday to supporters asking: “Are you sick of being harassed by the IRS? Well, maybe it’s time that somebody audited them for a change.”
The headline on the email: “Should I audit the IRS into oblivion?”
At one point, buzz was building that a new free online IRS service called Direct File had been killed by Musk, whom Trump has given broad authority to run a new “Department of Government Efficiency.”
IRS Direct File was expanded to 25 states but not Michigan for 2024 tax returns. A post on X by Musk said: “That group has been deleted,” triggering rumors in early February that Direct File was no more.
Many residents in these 25 states — but not all tax filers — are still able to use Direct File when they’re filing their state and federal income taxes this year.
More than 30 million taxpayers in nearly half of the country can take advantage of the new, free program to prepare and file their federal income taxes online directly with the IRS.
Millions of taxpayers can wait to file past the April 15 deadline based on federal disaster relief. While they might want to file earlier, they might also need to take their time.
Taxpayers in the entire states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, and parts of Alaska, New Mexico, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia will have until May 1 to file their 2024 returns and pay any tax due. In addition, these taxpayers also would have until May 1 to file their 2023 returns.
On Jan. 10, the IRS announced an extension for victims of California wildfires. The tax relief applies to individuals and businesses in southern California affected by wildfires and straight-line winds that began Jan. 7.
These taxpayers in California now have until Oct. 15 to file their 2024 returns and pay their federal income taxes, based on disaster relief in any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Many times, people want to file early to obtain their refund money. But many will wait, nonetheless, if they’re dealing with the aftermath of a disaster.
Make no mistake, plenty of people have filed their tax returns early this year. The IRS data indicated that the agency received 23.58 million returns through Feb. 7. The IRS processed 23.5 million returns through the first two weeks.
It is key to note, though, that the IRS number for total tax returns processed includes tax returns received in the prior or current year and processed in 2025. The IRS hasn’t processed nearly every 2024 tax return that it has received this year.
Matt Hetherwick, chief program officer for the nonprofit Accounting Aid Society in Detroit, said overall the nonprofit is actually seeing an increase in the number of tax returns prepared during the first weeks of this year’s tax season.
“Our appointment scheduling is also seeing an increase in demand when compared to the same time last year,” Hetherwick said.
Much of the tax work, he said, seems to be on track at this point.
“It is still very early in the filing season, so the earliest of filers would typically just now be getting refunds back,” Hetherwick said.
“We are busy, and we have not received any calls from clients concerned with the length of time it’s taken to receive their tax refund.”
Contact personal finance columnist Susan Tompor: stompor@freepress.com. Follow her on X @tompor.
