The Daily Money: Welcome to Sunday tax edition!
Good morning! It’s Daniel de Visé with your Daily Money, Sunday tax edition. Between now and April 15, we'll be briefing some of our most popular stories about Tax Season 2025.
Today, we'll talk about the new Trump administration, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and their impact on tax season.
Do IRS cuts mean refund delays?
File early! We’ve all heard tax accountants say that during tax season, but this year, there may be new urgency in the advice, Medora Lee reports.
The IRS is facing a double whammy of a hiring freeze and the possibility of losing thousands of employees as part of President Donald Trump’s aggressive attempt to downsize the federal government.
An IRS labor shortage in the middle of tax season could be devastating for taxpayers who want fast refund checks or need assistance, some accountants said.
Did Elon Musk 'delete' IRS Direct File?
In theory, taxpayers have more options than ever to prepare and file a tax return at no cost.
Or maybe not. The most noteworthy new program for free tax preparation, IRS Direct File, came under fire from Elon Musk, the billionaire Trump advisor who oversees DOGE. Musk tweeted in February that the service had been “deleted.” Democrats and Republicans in Congress have been battling over its future.
The IRS offered no official comment on Musk's tweet but noted that the program’s website was still up, although an X account for an associated IRS agency was down. The big question now is whether taxpayers will still entrust their returns to the embattled service.
Will DOGE delete my tax data?
If you follow the news, you’ve probably read about DOGE and its incursions into the seemingly bottomless trove of federal data.
Elon Musk’s cost-cutting campaign has stoked fears about the data itself: that sensitive records might be mishandled, copied, leaked or lost. The concurrent mass layoffs of government workers potentially leave fewer trained hands available to safeguard the records. Thankfully, none of the worst-case scenarios seem to have played out with America’s data.
Here are some expert tips on the federal records that you should track down, download and save, starting with tax records.
📰 More stories you shouldn't miss 📰
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- Did a no-tax-on-tips bill pass?
- IRS encourages online accounts
- Estate vs. inheritance taxes
About The Daily Money
Between now and April 15, The Daily Money will deliver weekly summaries of news, trends and all you need to know about Tax Season 2025.
Daniel de Visé covers personal finance for USA Today.