Even though the 2025 tax season has only been open less than two full weeks, the IRS has already been busy processing tax returns and issuing tax refunds.
Not mine — I’m still a ways away from sitting down with my W-2 forms and the 1040 instructions and a calculator and all that. But millions of Americans have already jumped right in. The sooner you file, the sooner you get that refund, right? At least I hope so.
There’ve been some unexpected concerns this year. In late January, US President Donald Trump announced a hiring freeze for the federal civilian workforce. This hiring freeze applies to government agencies, including the IRS — right ahead of tax season. That shouldn’t impact the timeline of processing returns and issuing refunds, but we’ll know better in time.