Tax Awareness Month runs every January to coincide with the opening of federal filing season, and it exists for a practical reason: the weeks between when your W-2s arrive and when your return is due are the best time to organize documents, check which credits you qualify for, and avoid the mistakes that cost people money. The IRS began accepting 2025 returns in late January 2026, and the filing deadline is April 15, 2026.1Internal Revenue Service. IRS Opens 2026 Filing Season What follows is what to do with the time in between.
Gather Your Documents First
Most tax forms arrive in your mailbox or inbox by the end of January. Pulling them together before you sit down to file is the simplest way to avoid errors and refund delays. You’ll want:
- Social Security numbers for yourself, your spouse if filing jointly, and every dependent
- W-2 forms from each employer
- 1099 forms for interest, dividends, freelance income, retirement distributions, and other non-wage income
- Records supporting any deductions you plan to itemize, including Form 1098 mortgage interest statements, charitable donation receipts, and medical bills
If a form is missing or the numbers look wrong, contact the issuer before filing rather than guessing.2Internal Revenue Service. Gather Your Documents
Do You Actually Have to File
Federal law requires a return when your gross income meets a threshold that tracks the standard deduction for your filing status and age.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 6012 – Persons Required to Make Returns of Income For tax year 2026, the standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married couples filing jointly, and $24,150 for heads of household.4Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026 Those numbers double as the filing thresholds for people under 65.
Filers 65 or older get an extra $6,000 standard deduction per person, which raises the threshold accordingly.5Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Filing Season Updates and Resources for Seniors A single filer 65 or older doesn’t need to file until income reaches $22,100. A joint-filing couple’s threshold rises to $38,200 if one spouse is 65 or older and $44,200 if both are.
File anyway if you had federal tax withheld from your paychecks or qualify for refundable credits. Filing is the only way to get that money back.
Standard Deduction or Itemize
Every filer picks one or the other. The standard deduction is a flat reduction in taxable income that requires no paperwork. Itemizing means listing your actual deductible expenses on Schedule A, including mortgage interest, charitable donations, and up to $10,000 in state and local taxes.6Internal Revenue Service. Schedule A (Form 1040) – Itemized Deductions Itemizing only pays off when your total deductible expenses exceed the standard deduction. With the standard deduction at its current level, fewer people benefit from itemizing than in years past.
Credits That Can Put Money Back in Your Pocket
Credits reduce your tax bill dollar for dollar, and refundable credits can produce a refund even if you owe nothing.7Internal Revenue Service. Refundable Tax Credits Three are worth checking before you file.
Earned Income Tax Credit
The EITC is a refundable credit for workers with low to moderate incomes. For tax year 2026, it ranges from $664 for a filer with no qualifying children up to $8,231 for a filer with three or more. Income limits scale with family size: a single filer with no children must earn under $19,540 to qualify, while a married couple filing jointly with three or more children can qualify with income up to $70,224. The IRS estimates roughly one in five eligible workers doesn’t claim it.
Child Tax Credit
The Child Tax Credit applies to each qualifying child under 17 who has a valid Social Security number and lived with you for more than half the year.8Internal Revenue Service. Child Tax Credit For tax years 2025 and later, the refundable portion is up to $5,000 per qualifying child, so you can receive it even if you owe no tax.9Internal Revenue Service. Tax Benefits for Parents and Families
Education Credits
The American Opportunity Tax Credit provides up to $2,500 per eligible student during the first four years of post-secondary education, with the credit phasing out for single filers with modified adjusted gross income between $80,000 and $90,000, or between $160,000 and $180,000 for joint filers.10Internal Revenue Service. American Opportunity Tax Credit The Lifetime Learning Credit covers up to $2,000 per return for qualified tuition at any stage of education, including graduate school. You can’t claim both credits for the same student in the same year.
If You Can’t File by April 15
You can request an automatic six-month extension by filing Form 4868 or by making an electronic payment and marking it as an extension.11Internal Revenue Service. Act Now to File, Pay, or Request an Extension That pushes your filing deadline to October 15, 2026.
Here’s what trips people up: an extension gives you more time to file, not more time to pay. Any tax you owe is still due April 15, and interest and penalties start accruing the next day. If you don’t know exactly what you owe, estimate and send a payment with the extension. Overpaying is cheaper than underpaying, because the IRS refunds overpayments but charges 7% annual interest, compounded daily, on unpaid balances.12Internal Revenue Service. Interest Rates Remain the Same for the First Quarter of 2026
Penalties Stack
Two penalties run at the same time when you miss the deadline. The failure-to-file penalty is 5% of unpaid taxes per month, up to 25%.13Internal Revenue Service. Failure to File Penalty The failure-to-pay penalty is 0.5% per month, also capped at 25%, and drops to 0.25% per month if you’re on an approved payment plan.14Internal Revenue Service. Failure to Pay Penalty Because the failure-to-file penalty is ten times steeper, filing on time is always the right move even if you can’t pay the balance.
Payment Plans
If you owe but can’t pay in full, the IRS offers formal plans. A short-term plan gives you up to 180 days with no setup fee if you apply online. A long-term installment agreement lets you pay monthly; setting one up online with direct debit costs $22, or $69 online with other payment methods, or $178 by phone or mail.15Internal Revenue Service. Payment Plans; Installment Agreements Filers at or below 250% of the federal poverty level can have setup fees waived. Penalties and interest keep accruing under a plan, but at the reduced 0.25% monthly rate.
Estimated Tax Payments if You Have Untaxed Income
Self-employment income, rental income, investment gains, and retirement distributions usually arrive without withholding, which shifts the responsibility to you. The IRS expects quarterly estimated payments when you’ll owe $1,000 or more after withholding and credits.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 6654 – Failure by Individual to Pay Estimated Income Tax For tax year 2026, the deadlines are April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15, 2027. You can skip the January payment if you file the full return and pay the balance by February 1, 2027.17Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Form 1040-ES
Free Filing Help Most People Don’t Use
Three federally backed programs offer free tax preparation, and all three are underused.
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA) provides free help if you earn $69,000 or less, have a disability, or speak limited English.18Internal Revenue Service. Free Tax Return Preparation for Qualifying Taxpayers Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) does the same for taxpayers 60 and older, with a focus on retirement questions.19Internal Revenue Service. Tax Counseling for the Elderly Both operate out of libraries, senior centers, and other community locations during filing season.
IRS Free File lets taxpayers with adjusted gross income of $89,000 or less use guided tax software from IRS partner companies at no cost through the IRS website.20Internal Revenue Service. File Your Taxes for Free At any income level, Free File Fillable Forms are also available for people comfortable preparing returns without guidance.
Protect Yourself From Refund Theft
Tax identity theft happens when someone uses your Social Security number to file a fake return and claim your refund. The risk peaks in January because thieves try to file before you do.
The IRS Identity Protection PIN program assigns a six-digit code that you include on your return to verify your identity. Anyone with a Social Security number or ITIN can enroll through the IRS Online Account portal after verifying their identity.21Internal Revenue Service. Get an Identity Protection PIN The PIN changes each year, and any return filed without the correct one is rejected, which blocks fraudulent filings.
Knowing how the IRS actually contacts people is the other half of the defense. The agency’s first contact comes by mail through the U.S. Postal Service.22Internal Revenue Service. How to Know It’s the IRS The IRS does not initiate contact by text message, social media, or email demanding immediate payment.23Internal Revenue Service. When an IRS Letter Arrives, Taxpayers Don’t Need to Panic, but They Do Need to Read It Any message pressuring you to pay with gift cards or wire transfers is a scam. If a letter looks real, verify it by calling the number on the IRS website, not the number in the letter.
Keep Your Records After Filing
The IRS can audit past returns within a specific window, and you need records to back up what you reported. The general rule is three years from the date you filed, or two years from the date you paid, whichever is later.24Internal Revenue Service. How Long Should I Keep Records?
Some situations require longer retention:
- Six years if you failed to report income exceeding 25% of the gross income shown on your return
- Seven years if you claimed a loss from worthless securities or a bad debt deduction
- Indefinitely if you didn’t file, or filed a fraudulent return
Property records, including purchase price, improvement costs, and depreciation, should be kept until at least three years after you sell the property, because you’ll need them to calculate gain or loss.