The 2025 tax season is quickly approaching, and the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) announced today it will begin accepting and processing 2025 tax returns on Monday, January 27th, the same date the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) begins accepting federal income tax returns.
Illinois will participate in the IRS Direct File program this year. Eligible taxpayers will be able to use the program to electronically complete their 2024 federal tax returns for free. Eligibility can be confirmed by visiting, directfile.irs.gov. After filing a federal return using Direct File, the program will connect taxpayers to Illinois Free State income filing system, MyTax Illinois, allowing them to file and complete their Illinois state returns.
The Illinois Child tax (CTC) is a new tax credit available to taxpayers who qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and have at least one dependent child under the age of 12 years old. The credit amount is calculated as 20% of the Illinois EITC. For tax year 2025, the child Tax Credit will increase to 40% of the Illinois EITC.
If a taxpayer electronically files an error-free return, they should receive a direct refund in approximately four weeks. In 2024, IDOR received a total of nearly 6.2 million IL-1040 returns. Of those returns received, close to 5.7 million were filed electronically, or close to 92%.
The tax filing deadline is Tuesday, April 15th, 2025. Taxpayers with further questions may call the IDOR’s taxpayer assistance numbers, 1-800-732-8866 or 217-782-3336.
