Tax season is almost here — ready or not. The IRS will start processing returns of the early birds who’ve already filed, but for most of the country, things will just be getting into gear.
Whether you receive a tax refund or not, it’s important to avoid errors and meet all IRS deadlines when filing your taxes, which starts by knowing these key dates on the tax season calendar.
Important Dates and Deadlines for Tax Season 2023
The following is a schedule of the most important days and events of this year’s tax season, but you’ll want to pay special attention starting in April! You need to know about these deadlines whether you work for an employer, work for yourself or both.
- January 13: The IRS Free File opened to the public in January, when taxpayers begin filing their returns through the third-party partners of the IRS Free File program.
- January 16: The deadline for estimated tax payments for the fourth quarter of 2022. If you work for an employer who withholds taxes from your paycheck, you don’t have to pay estimated quarterly taxes, but many self-employed people do.
- January 23: This is the official start of the 2023 tax season and the date that the IRS begins accepting and processing returns from tax year 2022.
- January 31: This is employers’ deadline to send W-2 forms to their employees. So if you haven’t received one yet, you need to contact your employer immediately.
- April 18: TAX DAY IS HERE — and filers are probably used to it arriving after the usual April 15 deadline by now. The delays in 2020 and 2021 were pandemic-related. However, in 2022, the IRS pushed back the deadline for filing 2021 tax returns and for paying taxes owed because of the Emancipation Day holiday in Washington, D.C. In 2023, the fact that April 15 falls on a Saturday and the Emancipation Day holiday on the following Monday, April 17, is also why the deadline is later. April 18 is also the last day to request an extension. You must e-file or postmark your returns, or file the Individual Tax Return Extension Form for Tax Year 2022 by midnight.
- April 18: This date is also important because it’s the last day to make contributions to retirement accounts like traditional IRAs, both deductible and not, and Roth IRAs. This is regardless of whether or not the IRS grants you a filing extension. Additionally, April 18 is the deadline for filing estimated quarterly taxes for the first quarter of 2023.
- June 15: Contractors, gig workers, and others whose self-employment requires them to pay estimated quarterly taxes must have their second-quarter checks in the mail by this date.
- Sept. 15: Self-employed workers must have their third-quarter 2023 estimated tax payment postmarked by this date to avoid IRS penalties.
- October 16: If you were granted a filing extension, your time has run out. The due date to file your 2022 tax return — and this time there’s no more wiggle room — is Oct. 16.
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Levi Leidy and Cynthia Measom contributed to the reporting of this article.