Credit: MGN(Associated Press) – The IRS on Friday announced January 27 as the official start date of the 2025 tax season, and expects more than 140 million tax returns to be filed by the April 15 tax deadline. The tax collection said it is expanding a program that allows people to file their taxes directly with the agency for free. The Direct File program, which allows taxpayers to calculate and submit their returns to the government directly without using commercial tax preparation software, will be available to taxpayers in 25 states starting Jan. 27, up from 12 states that were part of last year’s pilot program.