IRS to start accepting and processing tax returns on Jan. 26

The 2026 tax filing season will open Jan. 26, the IRS said Thursday. The IRS will have about 25% fewer workers than a year ago and new tax provisions to handle.

The date for the IRS to start accepting and processing tax returns is in line with previous years, including 2025 (Jan. 27) and 2024 (Jan. 29).

The provisions of H.R. 1, P.L. 119-21, commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, could affect federal taxes, credits, and deductions, the IRS said in a news release. Treasury Secretary and Acting IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent said he was “confident in our ability to deliver results and drive growth for businesses and consumers alike.”

IRS information systems have been updated to incorporate the provisions of H.R. 1, IRS CEO Frank Bisignano said in the release. Among the updates are an enrollment form for Trump accounts, which are a type of individual retirement account for children, and a new Schedule 1-A to claim provisions in the new legislation, including the deductions for tips and overtime, the car loan interest deduction for certain vehicles, and a new deduction for seniors, the IRS said.

The IRS expects to receive about 164 million individual tax returns during the 2026 season, in line with the 163.6 million received as of Oct. 17, 2025. While April 15 is the deadline to file individual returns and pay any tax due, taxpayers can get a filing extension until Oct. 15. Most taxpayers will file electronically, the IRS said.

Taxpayers can use the Where’s My Refund? link to track the status of refunds.

Meanwhile, the IRS encouraged taxpayers to establish a bank account to receive their tax refunds by direct deposit because the IRS is phasing out paper tax refunds due to an executive order.

A report released in July 2025 by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) found that IRS actions have resulted in a workforce reduction of about 25%, with 25,386 employees departing as of May 2025 through some sort of incentive program such as deferred resignation.

— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Martha Waggoner at Martha.Waggoner@aicpa-cima.com.