Every year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) makes changes to ensure that its tax code and programs are as current and user-friendly as possible for its taxpayers, and 2025 is no exception. The Agency, which strives to remain current, will make a few changes to its 2025 tax filing season, which will run as usual from January to April 2025.
During this time, the IRS will process over 128 million individual tax returns, highlighting the importance of the agency staying current and ensuring that the process is simple and straightforward for both taxpayers and employees.
Last year, the IRS implemented a pilot program called Direct File, which allows taxpayers to file their returns online for free. The program was so successful in the twelve states where it was implemented that the goal for 2025 is to expand it and make it more accessible to an even larger number of taxpayers.
The implementation of Direct File
Direct file was available in 2024 to residents of the following twelve states: Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington State, and Wyoming, as long as they had lived and worked in these states during the entire year of 2023.
In 2025, this program will be expanded to include Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, bringing the total number of states where it is available to 24.
The eligibility requirements remain the same as last year: you must have lived and worked in these states throughout 2024.
In 2024, more than 140,000 taxpayers used the free service, which assisted them in filing simple federal tax returns and then connected them to their state’s free tax filing tool to complete the process. Given that the number of states doubled in 2025, it stands to reason that the program will be able to assist many more taxpayers. IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel expressed enthusiasm for the expansion, saying,
“We are thrilled with the enhancements to Direct File and the millions of additional taxpayers who will be able to use the service this year. Our primary goal is to improve the tax filing experience and assist taxpayers in meeting their obligations quickly and easily.”
The goal is to add more states and functionalities to the program each year in order to make it as inclusive as possible and to make tax season easier for as many taxpayers as possible.
Other IRS changes in 2025
Although these changes will have an impact on the 2026 tax season, they must be announced in advance to allow taxpayers time to prepare and adjust to the new rules, but they are still important to consider.
- One of the main changes includes adjustments to standard deductions for single and married taxpayers filing separately.
- For single taxpayers and married individuals filing separately for tax year 2025, the standard deduction rises to $15,000, an increase of $400 from 2024.
- For married couples filing jointly, the standard deduction rises to $30,000, an increase of $800 from tax year 2024.
- For heads of households, the standard deduction will be $22,500, an increase of $600 from the amount for tax year 2024.
Another significant change is that in 2025, the alternative minimum tax exemption amount for unmarried individuals increases to $88,100 ($68,650 for married individuals filing separately) and begins to phase out at $626,350. For married couples filing jointly, the exemption amount rises to $137,000 and begins to phase out at $1,252,700.
The full list of changes is available o taxpayers on the IRS’s website.
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