The Internal Revenue Service will start accepting and processing tax returns in two weeks, the agency announced.

Tax season will officially start Monday, Jan. 27. The IRS expects more than 140 million individual returns for tax year 2024 to be filed ahead of the April 15 deadline. The agency began accepting returns via IRS Free File on Jan. 10 but they won’t be processed until the official start date.

Most filers who submit their returns digitally receive their refunds within 21 days but paper filers will have to wait for at least four weeks for information on the status of their return. You can track your refund using the Where’s My Refund tool within 24 hours of e-filing. In both cases, the information updates overnight so there’s no need to check more than once a day, according to the IRS.

Filers who claim the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Credit for Other Dependents will have to wait longer for their refunds due to extra identity verification. The IRS has not released the date for refunds claiming these credits.

Direct File opens

Residents in 25 states can file their taxes directly for free with the IRS.

Twelve states- Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington State and Wyoming – were part of a Direct File pilot program last year. This year, the service will also be available to those in Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Direct File includes a new feature this year that will allow taxpayers to opt-in to automatically import data from the IRS account, including personal information, the taxpayer’s IP Pin and some information from their W-2.

IRS Free File

IRS Free File is open now. It allows taxpayers with an Adjusted Gross Income of $84,000 or less to use tax preparation software for free. People who use Free File can fill out their forms now and they will be processed starting Jan. 27.

Free tax preparation is also available through Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly.