The Internal Revenue Service announced that people can begin filing their 2023 tax returns on Jan. 29.
This year, the IRS is implementing a free online filing service for residents of 13 states, including California, Texas and New York.
People who have relatively basic tax returns can use the new service.
"It's going to be W-2 taxpayers that don't itemize," said Kelly Erb, tax counsel for White & Williams. "So, really simple, the IRS says they want to kind of start out slow and roll the pilot program out."
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The IRS says people can begin using the IRS Free File service on Jan. 12 if they want to prep their returns ahead of the Jan. 29 acceptance date.
The launch of the pilot program came at the direction of Congress, which passed the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022.
"IRS employees are working hard to make sure that new funding is used to help taxpayers by making the process of preparing and filing taxes easier," said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel.
The agency also notes that people who use a third-party tax software system can prepare and submit their taxes ahead of the Jan. 29 acceptance date. It says the software companies hold the electronic submissions until the IRS is officially ready to begin receiving them.
The deadline for most people to file their 2023 taxes is April 15.
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