Tax Day is here in California. What to know about deadlines, refunds and more
Tax Day has arrived.
Whether you’ve already filed your tax return or haven’t gotten around to it yet, the deadline to submit your paperwork and pay outstanding taxes is looming.
From free filing services and extensions to refunds, here’s everything you need to know leading up to the big day.
When are taxes due to IRS and California?
Tuesday, April 15, is Tax Day.
That means individual tax returns and payment on any taxes owed are due to the IRS and the California Franchise Tax Board.
Can I file my tax return after April 15 deadline?
The federal government and the state of California allow individual taxpayers to file their tax return up to six months after the deadline.
In 2025, taxpayers have up until Oct. 15 to file their returns without penalty, according to the IRS.
However, payments on any outstanding tax due must be made by April 15, according to the tax agency.
If you were impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires in early 2025, the IRS and California tax board have implemented an exemption on the deadline.
Los Angeles County residents automatically have a six-month extension on filing their tax return and on making tax payments, The Sacramento Bee previously reported.
Some emergency aid workers who were impacted by the wildfires but do not live in the designated disaster zone can also request tax relief.
If you qualify, you can call the IRS at 866-562-5227.
How can I file my tax return for free?
There are a number of free options for filling out and submitting your tax documents, some of which are provided by the state and federal government.
According to previous Sacramento Bee reporting, the IRS Direct File software is available for Californians to file federal taxes at no cost.
There are a few requirements to be eligible for the service, according to the IRS:
- You lived in California all of 2024
- You earned all of your 2024 income in California
- You are using the same filing status for state and federal tax returns
- You aren’t filing with the “married filing separately” status
- You filed taxes in California in the past five years
You can determine if your tax situation is eligible for Direct File on the IRS website.
If you aren’t eligible, and you made no more than $84,000 income in 2024, you can use the IRS Free File program to file with a “trusted partner” at no cost, The Bee previously reported.
The federal tax agency has a list of approved third-party partners you can file with on its website.
Mobile banking app Cash App and IRS Free File partner FreeTaxUSA can help you file federal taxes for free, The Bee previously reported.
Cash App also offers California state tax filing at no cost, while FreeTaxUSA charges $14.99 for state filings.
According to previous Bee reporting, the state franchise tax board has an online service for filing state taxes, called CalFile.
If you have filed California taxes within the past five years and meet the state’s eligibility requirements, you can file your 2024 California tax return for free.
What should I do if my W-2 is lost or wrong?
If you did not receive a W-2 income reporting form by the end of February, or you lost it, you can reach out to the IRS for help, The Bee previously reported.
You can call the IRS at its toll-free number, 800-829-1040, and the agency will reach out to your employer to request a copy of your W-2.
Make sure to have personal and employment information available when you call.
If your income form has incorrect information listed, you can call the toll-free line or make an appointment at one of the 28 IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers across California, according to The Bee’s archives.
The agency will request that your employer send you a corrected W-2 within 10 days.
If your W-2 is lost or incorrect, the IRS will provide instructions on filling out Form 4852, Substitute for Form W-2.
If you have already filed with an incorrect W-2, or you received a corrected form after filing with a substitute W-2, you are able to file an amended tax return with Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.
How soon will I get my tax refund?
You can expect the IRS to process and return a tax refund within 21 days of receiving a tax return filed electronically, The Bee previously reported.
If you filed on paper, the agency could take at least four weeks to process a return, while an amended tax return might take up to 16 weeks for processing.
California’s tax board could take up to a month to deposit a tax refund from an electronically filed tax return and up to four months on paper-filed returns, The Bee reported.
Why do tax refunds get delayed?
According to The Bee’s archives, the IRS takes longer to process some tax returns, which can delay the agency from issuing a refund.
These are some reasons a return can take more time to process:
- The return was sent by mail
- It contains errors or is not complete
- It is an amended form
- It was affected by fraud or identity theft
- The bank referred the return to the IRS for “suspicious activity”
- It has a claim for an earned income tax credit or additional child tax credit
- It includes an allocation for an injured spouse
- It needs other “further review”
The fastest way to get your tax refund is to use the free direct deposit service to have the funds deposited into your bank account electronically.
How can I check the status of my tax refund?
The federal government and the state of California have tools to check your tax refund status online, according to previous Sacramento Bee reporting.
You can monitor the status of your federal tax refund on the IRS “Where’s My Refund?” webpage.
The California Franchise Tax Board’s refund status tool can be accessed on its website.
According to The Bee’s archives, you’ll need to provide some information to see your refund’s status, including your Social Security Number or taxpayer ID number, the amount of your refund, your filing status and your address.
How will IRS layoffs, hiring freeze impact my tax return and refund?
Federal and state tax returns and refunds could be impacted by the Trump administration’s staffing cuts and hiring freeze, experts said.
The IRS plans to cut up to 25% of its workforce in layoffs that started Friday, The Associated Bee reported then, resulting in the loss of about 20,000 employees.
Nina Olson, the executive director of the Center for Taxpayer Rights, previously told The Bee that tax returns with no issues are likely to not face delays.
However, returns that require IRS agent intervention could see issues, she said.
Certified personal accountant Larry Pon told The Bee in March that tax returns filed on paper, complicated forms and tax returns from prior years are most likely to be delayed due to them being processed manually.
Pon previously told The Bee that filing electronically and double checking the information on your tax return can help prevent your filing from being delayed by the staffing cuts.
As of April 4, there had been more than 67.7million tax refunds issued across the United States, totaling more than $211 billion, the IRS said in a news release.
This story was originally published April 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Tax Day is here in California. What to know about deadlines, refunds and more."
