2025 Income Tax Returns Are Due Next Week. Get All the Details on Tax Deadlines

If you dread the task of completing and declare your 2025 income taxesyou are not alone. The IRS says 20 to 25 percent of U.S. taxpayers wait until the last two weeks of tax season to submit their tax returns, according to TurboTax.

Don’t let your procrastination go any further: it’s time to gather all essential tax documentation and information you must complete your 2025 tax return and submit it to the IRS.

When is the deadline to complete and submit your 2025 tax return? Read on to find all the deadlines and planning information you need for 2026 U.S. federal income taxes.

When can I file my 2025 tax return?

The IRS began accepting 2025 tax returns on January 26. For those waiting for a tax refund, it usually makes sense to file your taxes as soon as possible.

You can file your 2025 federal income tax return today with CNET’s best tax software. If you’re expecting a refund from the IRS this year, you should expect to receive your tax refund two to three weeks after your return is accepted.

What is the deadline to file my 2025 tax return with the IRS?

The deadline to complete and submit your 2025 tax return to the IRS is April 15the traditional deadline for federal income tax in the United States. Tax returns filed after April 15 may be subject to both fines and penalties if you owe money to the government.

There are no local or state holidays that interfere with the tax deadline in 2026, so taxpayers in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., should be prepared to complete and submit their 2025 tax return or file a tax extension by April 15.

What is the deadline to request a tax extension in 2026?

If you wish to extend your 2025 tax return filing deadline by six months, you will need to file a tax extension within the same period — April 15. To do this, you will need to complete and submit IRS Form 4868, Request for Automatic Extension of Deadline for Filing U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns.

Any U.S. taxpayer can request an extension to extend their federal income tax deadline to October 15but if you owe money to the IRS, you will need to pay an estimated amount owed by April 15. If you pay less than 90% of what you ultimately owe in federal taxes, you could be subject to fines and penalties.

US states with exceptions to the April 15 tax filing deadline

Eight states – Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming – levy no income tax on residents, and Washington only taxes capital gains on high-income taxpayers. Residents of these states generally will not need to file their income taxes.

The majority of the other 41 states and D.C. have state and local tax filing deadlines that match the April 15 federal deadline, but five of them are bucking that trend with their own unique dates for filing state taxes.

Even though these states have later income tax deadlines, federal tax returns for 2025 must still be submitted to the IRS by April 15.

Due to natural disasters, two localities in the United States received automatic extensions for filing federal income taxes for 2025. Taxpayers in Washington state who were affected by storms, floods or mudslides that began on December 9, 2025 have until May 1 to file their federal income taxes. And Alaska taxpayers in the Lower Kuskokwim Regional School Attendance Area, Lower Yukon Regional School Attendance Area and Northwest Arctic Borough who were affected by Typhoon Halong that began on October 8, 2025 also have until May 1 to pay their federal taxes.

U.S. taxpayers who live permanently abroad and certain members of the military serving overseas automatically receive a two-month extension. Taxpayers eligible for the two-month tax extension are:

• Expatriates living outside the United States and Puerto Rico whose primary activity is also outside the country
• Persons enlisted in military or naval service outside the United States and Puerto Rico

For taxes due, the overseas extension follows the same rules as the standard six-month extension. If a taxpayer owes money to the IRS, they will have to pay 90% of what they owe by April 15, or face fines and penalties.