Should I File My Federal Return This Year?

Tax season usually comes with its own special recipe of inherent stress as we scramble to get all our documents in order and submit returns to the IRS ahead of the April filing deadline. This year, doing taxes comes with an extra helping of existential dread as an ongoing government coup staged by billionaire Elon Musk and his DOGE team of hackers seeks access to sensitive IRS data for American taxpayers.

Normally we hear plenty of admonishments this time of year from personal finance experts to mind your data security amid a mountain of tax scams and identity fraud. But this year the grift is also coming from inside the house as the Trump regime tries to hinder the effectiveness of the IRS with massive layoffs while DOGE simultaneously seeks access to IRS data that could be used to target undocumented workers for deportation or politically weaponize audits.

Americans, infuriated by DOGE’s cataclysmic reductions in federal staffing and funding across multiple agencies, have begun asking why they’re paying taxes to support a government that no longer provides core functions or services. After all, it’s disheartening and frankly enraging to watch your hard-earned tax dollars line the pockets of oligarchs like Musk as if you’re paying some sort of obscene financial oath of fealty.

Unfortunately, paying taxes isn’t optional no matter who is helming the federal government or how quickly America might be descending into failed state territory. Here’s what to keep in mind as you file taxes this year and what you can expect from the process according to an IRS-enrolled agent.

Returns—and morale—are down at the IRS.

If all the drama has you dragging your feet on submitting a tax return, you’re not alone. The IRS is reporting far fewer early returns in the first few weeks of the 2025 tax season. Although tax refund amounts have increased modestly this year, many taxpayers who usually submit early returns aren’t doing so.

Is it that taxpayers are concerned about tax data being weaponized or used to target undocumented workers and their families? Or are taxpayers hoping for tax code changes Trump might have promised that haven’t yet materialized? 

Perhaps the most likely reason is that widely publicized cuts to the agency’s workforce and the proposed elimination of tax assistance centers across the country have American taxpayers feeling anxious. After all, in addition to firing thousands of probationary IRS agents hired to shore up a retiring workforce, the administration has released plans to cut the agency’s entire workforce by half once this year’s tax season concludes.

It’s been noted that fewer IRS agents to investigate more complicated federal tax returns usually results in more audits because agents focus on the low-hanging fruit of middle-income or low-income tax returns. But Jassen Bowman, Enrolled Agent and founder of Heartfelt Finance, reminds that the refund process is automated for most returns and that only a tiny number will get flagged for human review regardless.

“For this tiny pool of tax returns, there will absolutely be delays in the processing of those reviews and the ultimate issuance of a refund,” Bowman admits. “This will be a frustrating experience for the handful of people that it affects, without a doubt. But again, it will fortunately be a very tiny number of people. For most of us, it will be smooth sailing.”

Promises made, promises broken

There were a lot of casual promises and enticements thrown out on the campaign trail by Donald Trump in regards to taxes. His wild speculation about completely eliminating income taxes in favor of tariffs aside, some policy proposals included lifting taxes on Social Security income, tips, and overtime entirely. Trump also suggested he might raise or remove the SALT cap which allows homeowners to claim some portion of property taxes as well as state and local income taxes as tax-deductible on federal tax returns.

Unfortunately none of that has materialized yet as Trump focuses on using the bully pulpit of the presidency to wage a tariff war, driving up daily expenses for families at a time when they can least afford it with no immediate tax relief in sight. In fact, several tax credits Americans have previously used such as the clean energy credits may be in jeopardy next year as Republicans attempt to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act.

Why you shouldn’t wait to file your taxes

All the speculation and drama aside, the lesson to be learned this tax season is pretty simple. File your taxes. The sooner the better, especially if you overpaid and the federal government owes you money. As Bowman notes, due to upheaval at the IRS, e-filing your return will result in a much quicker refund rather than waiting for a paper check via snail mail.

He also clarifies that if you’re holding off filing in hopes something will change with the tax code, stop waiting. “While it has happened, it is extremely rare for Congress to pass tax code changes that are retroactive to a prior year,” he says. “Many of the big tax changes enacted during Trump’s first term are set to expire on December 31, 2025, and the main focus in Congress is on making those tax changes permanent. There is nothing that I’ve seen working its way through Congress that would cause a retroactive tax change to the 2024 tax year.”

If you’re worried that DOGE will gain access to your IRS data, sadly that ship has already sailed. Musk and his team have mucked around in the data from the U.S. Treasury system, which contains banking information and addresses used for IRS refunds. Bowman agrees this is a scary breach of some of the federal government’s most sensitive information systems and that it might be particularly concerning for undocumented workers, visa holders, and their families. 

“The other big thing I’d like to remind people of is the fact that the IRS will already be receiving information about who you are and where you work because employers submit copies of W-2 and 1099 forms to the IRS, not just to you,” clarifies Bowman. “So the IRS has that information whether you file a tax return or not. So for example, if a non-citizen was working on some sort of temporary work visa that expired, and they had an ITIN number instead of an SSN number, their employer will still submit a W-2 to the IRS with their name and address, so that information will be in a government database that can be mined by other departments.”

If you owe the federal government money or if you’re eligible for an extension on your federal income tax return, you might be procrastinating until the last minute. Just remember that an extension doesn’t provide extra time to pay your taxes, just extra time to file a return. Like every American, you’re still required to pay what you owe by the April deadline or you’ll be charged late fees, penalties, and interest. 

What you should know about the coming battle over taxes

If you think taxes feel stressful this year, just wait until 2026. That’s when it all hits the fan because the 2017 Trump tax cuts from his first term expire later this year. Certainly the Republican priority will be lowering the corporate tax rate to benefit themselves and their oligarch buddies, and per usual that will probably come at the expense of American families.

And while the White House and the Treasury Department agreed to limit DOGE access to anonymous taxpayer data instead of allowing them to access individual returns, Musk and his motley crew of criminals, hackers, and fellow oligarchs continues to press for more and may eventually find someone at the IRS willing to comply in advance.

The advice for Americans worried their tax returns might make them a target for deportation or political retribution is grim. You are required by law to submit your tax returns and to pay your taxes by the deadline. Failure to do so will likely attract more attention (and financial and criminal penalties) than you’d desire. 

For now, your individual return and IRS-specific data appears to be safe and laws prohibiting it being shared with other federal agencies remain intact. But don’t wait to file. Like all things in America these days, the situation is far more likely to deteriorate than improve.