IRS will begin accepting and processing tax returns on Jan. 23

Jan. 13 (UPI) -- The Internal Revenue Service announced Thursday that the 2023 tax season will officially begin Jan. 23, when the agency will begin accepting and processing returns.

The IRS said in a statement that taxpayers will have three "extra days" to file before the April 18 deadline this year because of the layout of the calendar year.

Officials said the IRS has taken "additional steps" this year to improve service for taxpayers, including hiring more than 5,000 new staff to man telephones.

"This filing season is the first to benefit the IRS and our nation's tax system from multi-year funding in the Inflation Reduction Act," Doug O'Donnell, the acting commissioner of the IRS, said in a statement.

"With these new additional resources, taxpayers and tax professionals will see improvements in many areas of the agency this year."

The IRS noted that many tax professionals and tax software providers have already started accepting tax returns and will begin transmitting those to the IRS when the tax season opens.

The agency will open its Free File program beginning Friday for taxpayers who made $73,000 or less last year. Such taxpayers can prepare their taxes electronically for free using brand-name software provided by commercial tax filing companies.

The IRS said that people anticipating refunds can expect to receive them within 21 days of filing if they choose direct deposit.

The announcement came just days after House Republicans voted Monday to slash billions in IRS funding in their first majority action under a new Congress and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

The House voted along party lines 221-210 Monday evening, passing legislation to rescind a good part of an Internal Revenue Service funding boost in the Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act.