Filing your taxes means reporting your income to the IRS, calculating what you owe (or what you’re owed as a refund), and submitting your return by the April 15 deadline. The process breaks down into a few clear steps: gathering your documents, choosing how you’ll file, filling out your return, and submitting it. Here’s how to work through each one.
Gather Your Documents First
Before you open any tax software or sit down with a preparer, pull together everything you’ll need. Missing a form means either guessing at numbers or stopping midway to hunt for paperwork. Most of what you need will arrive in your mailbox or email by early February.
Personal information: Your Social Security number (or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number), your current address, and your bank account and routing numbers if you want a refund deposited directly. If you filed last year, have your prior-year adjusted gross income (AGI) and exact refund amount handy, since e-filing systems use those to verify your identity. If the IRS issued you an Identity Protection PIN, you’ll need that too.
Income forms: These are the forms that employers, banks, clients, and government agencies send you showing money you earned during the year. The most common ones include:
- W-2 from each employer, showing wages and taxes withheld
- 1099-NEC for freelance or independent contractor income
- 1099-INT for bank interest
- 1099-DIV for stock dividends
- 1099-G for unemployment benefits or state tax refunds
- 1099-R for retirement plan distributions
- 1099-K for payments received through online marketplaces or payment apps
- SSA-1099 for Social Security benefits
- W-2G for gambling or lottery winnings
If you sold cryptocurrency or other digital assets, gather those transaction records even if you didn’t receive a formal tax form.
Deduction and credit documents: If you plan to itemize deductions instead of taking the standard deduction, collect your home mortgage interest statements, property tax records, charitable donation receipts, and records of medical expenses. Whether you itemize or not, you may also need receipts for childcare expenses, tuition and education costs, health savings account contributions, and retirement contributions, since these can qualify for credits or above-the-line deductions.
Self-employment records: If you run a side business or do freelance work, you’ll need records of all income (including payments by check or cash that don’t show up on a 1099), plus receipts for deductible business expenses like office supplies, mileage, and travel. If you made estimated tax payments during the year, have those confirmation numbers or canceled checks ready.
Choose Your Filing Status
Your filing status determines your tax bracket thresholds and your standard deduction amount, so picking the right one matters. There are five options:
- Single: Unmarried with no dependents who qualify you for head of household.
- Married filing jointly: You and your spouse combine income on one return. This usually results in the lowest combined tax bill.
- Married filing separately: You and your spouse each file your own return. This occasionally helps when one spouse has high medical expenses or student loan issues, but it disqualifies you from several credits.
- Head of household: Unmarried (or considered unmarried) and paying more than half the cost of keeping up a home for a qualifying dependent. This gives you a larger standard deduction than single status.
- Qualifying surviving spouse: Available for up to two years after a spouse’s death if you have a dependent child. Provides the same brackets and deduction as married filing jointly.
For 2025 tax returns (filed in 2026), the standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married couples filing jointly, and $24,150 for head of household. If your itemized deductions don’t exceed your standard deduction, the standard deduction gives you a bigger tax break with less paperwork.
Pick a Filing Method
You have several ways to actually prepare and submit your return. The right choice depends on your income, the complexity of your tax situation, and how much you want to spend.
IRS Free File
If your adjusted gross income is $89,000 or less, you can use IRS Free File, which gives you access to guided tax software from private companies at no cost. You’ll find the available options on the IRS website. Each software partner sets its own eligibility rules around income, age, and state residency, so check the details before you start. If your income is above $89,000, IRS Free File also offers fillable forms (essentially digital versions of paper tax forms) that anyone can use, though they provide no guidance or calculations beyond basic math.
Commercial Tax Software
Paid software from companies like TurboTax, H&R Block, and TaxAct walks you through your return with interview-style questions. Prices typically range from free for the simplest returns to $100 or more for versions that handle investments, rental income, or self-employment. Most include e-filing for your federal return. State returns usually cost extra. This is the most popular method: the majority of individual returns are e-filed through third-party software.
Tax Preparers
A professional preparer, whether at a national chain or an independent CPA’s office, handles the work for you. This makes sense if you have a complicated situation (business income, rental properties, stock options, major life changes) or simply don’t want to deal with it yourself. Costs vary widely, from around $200 for a straightforward return to $500 or more for complex ones. Make sure any preparer you hire has a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN), which the IRS requires of anyone who prepares returns for compensation.
Free In-Person Help
The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program offers free preparation for people who generally earn $67,000 or less, have disabilities, or speak limited English. Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) provides free help for taxpayers 60 and older. Both programs operate at community centers, libraries, and other local sites during filing season. You can find locations through the IRS website or by calling 211.
Fill Out Your Return
Whether you’re using software or paper forms, the basic structure of a federal tax return (Form 1040) follows the same flow. You report your total income, subtract deductions to arrive at taxable income, calculate tax owed, apply credits, and determine whether you owe money or get a refund.
Start by entering all your income. Software will prompt you to input each W-2 and 1099. If you’re doing it manually, you’ll add up wages, interest, dividends, business income, capital gains, retirement distributions, and any other taxable income.
Next, choose between the standard deduction and itemizing. Most people take the standard deduction because it’s simpler and often larger. If you have substantial mortgage interest, state and local taxes (capped at $10,000), medical expenses exceeding 7.5% of your AGI, or large charitable contributions, run the numbers both ways to see which saves you more.
After deductions, your software or tax tables tell you the tax on your remaining taxable income. Then apply any credits you qualify for. Credits reduce your tax bill dollar for dollar, making them more valuable than deductions. Common ones include the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit (for lower and moderate-income workers), education credits like the American Opportunity Credit, and the Child and Dependent Care Credit.
Finally, compare your total tax to what was already withheld from your paychecks (shown on your W-2) plus any estimated tax payments you made. If more was withheld than you owe, you get a refund. If less was withheld, you owe the difference.
Submit Your Return
E-filing is faster, more accurate, and gets your refund to you sooner than mailing a paper return. Most taxpayers who e-file and choose direct deposit receive their refund within 21 days. Paper returns can take six to eight weeks or longer.
When you e-file, you’ll sign your return electronically using your prior-year AGI or a self-select PIN. The IRS will send an acknowledgment confirming they received it, usually within 24 to 48 hours. If you’re mailing a paper return, sign and date it, attach your W-2s, and send it to the IRS address listed in the form instructions for your state.
If you owe money, you can pay electronically through IRS Direct Pay (free, straight from your bank account), by debit or credit card (processing fees apply), or by mailing a check with a payment voucher (Form 1040-V). You can also set up a payment plan if you can’t pay the full amount right away.
Key Deadlines
The federal filing deadline for 2025 tax returns is April 15, 2026. If you can’t finish by then, you can request an automatic six-month extension by filing Form 4868, which pushes your filing deadline to October 15. An extension gives you more time to file your paperwork, but it does not extend the time to pay. If you owe taxes, you’re expected to estimate and pay by April 15 to avoid interest and late-payment penalties.
If you’re owed a refund, there’s technically no penalty for filing late. But you have only three years from the original due date to claim a refund before the money reverts to the Treasury.
Track Your Refund
After you file, you can check the status of your refund using the “Where’s My Refund?” tool on IRS.gov or through the IRS2Go mobile app. You’ll need your Social Security number, filing status, and the exact refund amount from your return. The tool updates once daily, usually overnight, and is available about 24 hours after e-filing (or about four weeks after mailing a paper return).