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Taxes

Tax Refund

When Are Taxes Due in 2024? Here Are the State and Federal Deadlines You Need to Know

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Have you filed your taxes yet? If not, read on — April has a tendency to sneak up on even the savviest of taxpayers, and there are several important dates you should be aware of in the coming months.

Tax season formally began on Jan. 29, and the deadline for federal tax returns will be April 15 — though that doesn't apply to everyone. Here's what you need to know about when to file taxes in 2024.

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When are taxes due for 2023?

Most individual income tax returns for the 2023 tax year are due to the IRS on April 15, 2024. Taxpayers need to file a Form 1040 (or Form 1040-SR, for older adults) and pay any tax due by this date.

Tax Day is usually on or around April 15. If April 15 falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, the tax deadline moves to the next weekday. And if that's a holiday, it gets pushed back another business day. (The IRS also tends to offer extensions to Americans impacted by national disasters or emergency situations, but that's a different story.)

Take 2023 as an example. April 15 fell on a Saturday, which would normally mean Tax Day would be pushed to the following Monday. But April 17 was Emancipation Day in Washington, D.C., so the official tax deadline was moved to April 18.

In 2024, April 15 is a Monday, so that's Tax Day for almost everyone. Residents of Maine and Massachusetts have until April 17 to file their federal income taxes because April 15 is Patriots’ Day and April 16 is Emancipation Day.

When can I file my taxes?

You can do your taxes as soon as you have all of the information and tax documents you need. Tax preparers like TurboTax and H&R Block launched their software back in November, and IRS Free File opened on Jan. 12. You should have received most of your tax forms — like your W-2, 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC — by the end of January.

Filing taxes early is smart for many reasons. For one, getting your taxes to the IRS sooner means receiving your refund faster, in effect shortening the quote-unquote "loan" you've given Uncle Sam and returning that money to your pocket sooner. It also helps prevent fraud, as identity thieves often use stolen Social Security numbers to file people's taxes and steal their tax refunds. If you beat them to the punch and have already filed by the time they try to, the IRS will reject that return, protecting your tax refund and your personal data in the process.

Doing taxes early can also be smart because it's cheaper. Tax prep sites tend to hike their fees the closer we get to Tax Day. For example, TurboTax Live Assisted costs $0 if you use it to file your simple tax return before March 31. After that date, it'll cost you $89.

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When are state taxes due in 2024?

The information above only applies to your federal tax return. Many states charge individual income taxes, as well, and they have a different set of deadlines.

Most states with income taxes require people to file their state returns by the federal due date (which this year is April 15 or April 17 if you live in Massachusetts or Maine). But there are exceptions.

In New Mexico, for instance, those who e-file get extra time: They don't have to file until April 30. In Virginia, the state tax deadline is May 1. And in Louisiana, tax returns and payments are due May 15.

Check your state revenue department's website to find out your 2024 tax filing deadline. Or see our list of state tax due dates for calendar-year filers below:

Alabama: April 15
Arizona: April 15
Arkansas: April 15
California: April 15
Colorado: April 15
Connecticut: April 15
Delaware: April 30
Georgia: April 15
Hawaii: April 22
Idaho: April 15
Illinois: April 15
Indiana: April 15
Iowa: April 30
Kansas: April 15
Kentucky: April 15
Louisiana: May 15
Maine: April 17
Maryland: April 15
Massachusetts: April 17
Michigan: April 15
Minnesota: April 15
Mississippi: April 15
Missouri: April 15
Montana: April 15
Nebraska: April 15
New Jersey: April 15
New Mexico: April 15 (April 30 if filing electronically)
New York: April 15
North Carolina: April 15
North Dakota: April 15
Ohio: April 15
Oklahoma: April 15
Oregon: April 15
Pennsylvania: April 15
Rhode Island: April 15
South Carolina: April 15
Utah: April 15
Vermont: April 15
Virginia: May 1
West Virginia: April 15
Wisconsin: April 15

How to file for a tax extension

If you lose track of when taxes are due and you end up needing more time to file, it's easy to get an automatic extension from the IRS:

You can pay all or some of your tax bill and denote that it's for an extension.
You can submit Form 4868 online (which you can do through IRS Free File regardless of your income).
You can send in a paper version of IRS Form 4868.

This will give you an extra six months to file your federal taxes, making your new tax deadline Oct. 15. (Several states, like California and Colorado, also offer taxpayers automatic six-month extensions for their state taxes.)

It's extremely common to need more time to file your taxes — in 2022, roughly 19 million taxpayers requested an extension from the IRS. But you should note that while this may grant you additional time to get your paperwork together, it doesn't postpone the deadline for actually paying your taxes. You'll need to estimate and pay what you owe by the regular deadline; otherwise, you could face IRS penalties for late filing.

If you need help with current-year or past-due taxes, consider contacting a tax professional. Reputable tax relief companies can guide you through your options for filing back taxes and starting a payment plan.

When will I get my tax refund for 2023?

The IRS sends out the vast majority of tax refunds within 21 days of receiving a federal return, so you can expect a relatively quick turnaround once you file.

As always, the IRS's advice for getting your tax refund ASAP is to e-file and select direct deposit as the delivery method. You can track your refund using its Where's My Refund? tool.

FAQ

When is Tax Day 2024?

The deadline to file your 2023 income taxes is April 15, 2024, unless you live in Maine or Massachusetts (in which case it's April 17). Keep in mind this is the federal due date — your state taxes may have a different deadline.

When is the last day you can file 2023 taxes?

The end of the tax season is April 15, but if you request an extension, the IRS will let you have until Oct. 15 to file (but not pay) your taxes.

If you miss the tax deadline and you owe the IRS money, you may face penalties and interest.

If you miss it and the IRS owes you a refund, the situation is different. There's no penalty, but you should make sure to file your 2023 taxes by April 2027. That's because the IRS generally gives taxpayers three years to claim their refunds.

When are quarterly taxes due?

Quarterly estimated taxes are generally paid by people who are self-employed, independent contractors or members of a partnership that conduct business. These Americans are supposed to make estimated tax payments if they expect to owe over $1,000 once they file their federal return, or if their withholding and tax credits are expected to be less than 90% of their estimated tax liability for the current tax year (or 100% of the previous year's).

These taxes are divided into four rough "quarters." Estimated tax payments are typically due April 15, June 15, Sept. 15 and Jan. 15 each year, though they can be moved to the following business day if the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday.

For the 2024 tax year, you'll need to submit your estimated tax payments by April 15, June 17, Sept. 16 and Jan. 15, 2025.