For the 2026 filing season, the IRS has not yet announced an exact calendar date for when it will begin accepting 2025 federal tax returns, but it is expected to open in late January 2026 , as in prior years. Most sources and tax pros are currently treating this as a “late January” start window, with Tax Day itself falling on April 15, 2026 for most taxpayers.

Quick Scoop

  • The IRS usually opens e‑filing in the last 7–10 days of January , and current 2026 guidance still describes the start as “late January.”
  • As of early January 2026, the official opening day has not been published, so any specific date you see online is still a best guess , not confirmed.
  • The hard deadline for filing 2025 federal returns (the “when do taxes have to be filed” part) is April 15, 2026 , unless you live in a disaster area or get an extension.

What you can safely plan around

  • Expect tax software to let you start preparing your return earlier in January, but transmission to the IRS won’t actually go through until the IRS flips the switch in late January.
  • Employers and many payers have until January 31, 2026 to send out most W‑2s and key 1099s, so practically speaking a lot of people can’t file much before that anyway.

Why the date isn’t locked yet

  • The IRS often waits to finalize the opening date until it finishes updating systems for new laws, inflation adjustments, and security improvements, which is why current notices only say “filing season quickly approaching” and “late January.”
  • This pattern is consistent with earlier years, where the formal date tends to be announced only a couple of weeks before opening day.

What to do now

  1. Gather documents: W‑2s, 1099s, mortgage interest statements, and other tax forms that will roll in through January.
  1. Check for IRS updates: Look for an official press release about the 2026 filing‑season start date as mid‑ to late‑January approaches.
  1. Prepare early, file when gates open: You can have your return ready in your software so it can be sent as soon as the IRS begins accepting returns in that late‑January window.

TL;DR: When people search “when do taxes open 2026,” they are really asking when the IRS starts accepting 2025 returns; the best current answer is “late January 2026, exact date still to be officially announced,” with Tax Day on April 15, 2026.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.