The due date for filing estimated taxes for the September–December quarter is Jan. 15.
The IRS is recommending that taxpayers prepare for the 2025 tax filing season by taking certain key steps to make filing easier and help safeguard their tax information.
“There are a number of things taxpayers can do to get ready as the end of 2024 nears and the start of the 2025 tax season approaches,” a Dec. 19 statement from the agency says. The latest reminder is part of the “Get Ready” series, in which the IRS publishes key updates as the start of the next tax season approaches.
The IRS encouraged taxpayers to sign up for an IRS Online Account. The account helps individuals view key information from their recent returns, make and cancel payments, get electronic notices from the agency, set up payment plans, and sign forms such as powers of attorney, among other items.
Besides the online account, the IRS recommended getting an Identity Protection Personal Identification Number, or IP PIN.
“An IP PIN is a six-digit number that prevents someone else from filing a federal tax return using an individual’s Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number,” the agency states.
“It’s a vital tool for ensuring the safety of taxpayers’ personal and financial information.”
For the 2025 filing season, the IRS has made an update regarding dependents on tax forms.
Taxpayers claim dependents when filing returns in order to receive certain deductions and credits such as the child tax credit, earned income tax credit, medical expense deductions, and education credits.
Sometimes, multiple people claim the same individuals as dependents on tax forms.
The IRS processes tax returns in the order it receives them. As a result, if the agency has already processed a return involving certain dependents, another return seeking to claim the same individuals will be rejected.
However, starting from the 2025 filing season, returns claiming the same dependents will be accepted by the agency, provided the taxpayer includes a valid IP PIN.
The IRS says the new update “will reduce the time for the agency to receive the tax return and accelerate the issuance of tax refunds for those with duplicate dependent returns.”
