The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has set January 29 as the official start date for the 2024 tax season, anticipating over 128.7 million tax returns to be filed by the April 15 deadline.
This announcement coincides with the ongoing massive overhaul of the agency, fueled by the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, which injected tens of billions of dollars into the IRS in August 2022.
Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act Fuels Massive Overhaul
With a focus on enhancing technology and customer service, the IRS aims to streamline operations and improve the overall tax-filing experience for individuals.
IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel expressed confidence in the ongoing transformation, emphasizing the positive impact it will have on taxpayers during the upcoming filing season.
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IRS 2024: Walk-in Centers, Paperless Processing, and Electronic Filing Pilot
This year, the IRS plans to open more walk-in centers to assist taxpayers, implement enhanced paperless processing for better correspondence management, and introduce improved individual online accounts.
Notably, eligible taxpayers will have the option to file their 2023 returns directly with the IRS through a new electronic direct file pilot, set to be phased in and widely accessible by mid-March.
The IRS anticipates issuing most refunds in less than 21 days, a welcome improvement compared to past years when the agency faced substantial backlogs of paper tax returns.
The increased funding is expected to contribute to a smoother filing season with reduced backlogs, addressing the challenges the IRS encountered in previous years.
Despite the positive developments, the IRS now faces looming threats of funding cuts. The aftermath of last year’s debt ceiling and budget cuts deal between Republicans and the White House resulted in a significant reduction of $1.4 billion from the agency’s original $80 billion allocation under the Inflation Reduction Act.
An additional agreement diverted $20 billion from the IRS over the next two years to other nondefense programs.
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