IRS Issues Tax Filing Request to Thousands Before Fall Rush
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The Internal Revenue Service has issued a request to thousands of taxpayers who sought extensions for their 2024 federal tax returns to file them during the summer months.
The IRS emphasized that filing early can help taxpayers avoid the expected fall rush ahead of the October 15 deadline, potentially expediting payment plans or the resolution of issues that may arise during the filing process.
The agency promoted its IRS Free File program, which provides free, guided tax preparation online for individuals with an adjusted income of $84,000 or less.
The Internal Revenue Service building in Washington D.C. in 2021.
The Internal Revenue Service building in Washington D.C. in 2021.
Patrick Semansky/AP
Why It Matters
By encouraging early filing, the IRS seeks to reduce system bottlenecks caused by last-minute submissions in October—a period known for high traffic among extension filers.
Missing the filing deadline can trigger penalties, interest and potential complications with future filings.
The IRS Free File program's expansion to those earning $84,000 or less reflects ongoing efforts to make tax filing more accessible and cost-effective for everyday Americans.
What To Know
The IRS Free File program is available around the clock, offering guided, secure federal tax preparation and electronic filing at no cost for many Americans.
The IRS' Free File Fillable Forms are also accessible to all taxpayers, regardless of income.
These initiatives are designed to streamline the filing process, provide transparency and reduce errors for extension filers.
Multiple secure payment methods are available—including IRS Online Account, IRS Direct Pay, the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System and major credit or debit cards. Immediate electronic payment confirmation is also provided.
Taxpayers unable to pay their full balance may apply for a payment plan online. Short-term plans are available for those who owe less than $100,000, granting up to 180 days to pay.
Long-term installment agreements, available for balances under $50,000, offer up to 72 months to pay. While interest and penalties continue, active installment agreements reduce the failure-to-pay penalty by half.
What People Are Saying
Jay A. Soled, a professor and chair of the Department of Accounting and Information Systems at Rutgers Business School, New Jersey, previously told Newsweek: "Even with the tax-filing extension, interest will apply to any 2024 tax payments received after April 15. This means that unpaid tax-year 2024 tax balances will begin accruing interest, currently at the rate of seven percent per year, compounded daily, after April 15, 2025."
Richard D. Pomp, a professor of law at the UConn Law School, Connecticut, previously told Newsweek: "We are currently living through a total state of chaos at the IRS. Whenever possible, taxpayers abroad should file electronically and verify with screen shots and saved files, and copies of all documentation."
What Happens Next
The IRS is set to continue processing early extension filings over the summer. Its Free File resources are available until the October 15 deadline.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Currax Expands Access to FDA-Approved Obesity Treatment with Brand Name Contrave® with New Cash Price Available via GoodRx
New cash pay program offers Contrave, the #1 branded oral non-GLP-1 weight loss medication brand, for as low as $199 per month* BRENTWOOD, Tenn., July 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Currax Pharmaceuticals LLC ("Currax"), a specialty biopharmaceutical company and manufacturer of the #1 branded oral non-GLP-1 weight loss medication brand CONTRAVE® (naltrexone HCl/bupropion HCl), announces today the launch of its latest cost saving initiative with GoodRx, the leading platform for medication savings in the U.S. The national access program introduces a cash pay prescription offer for Contrave, expanding access to affordable weight management medication for more patients, regardless of insurance. According to the CDC, more than 40% of U.S. adults are living with obesity, yet cost and coverage barriers often limit access to effective treatment options. Now, patients can access Contrave at a cash price of $199 via GoodRx, regardless of insurance status, allowing them to fill their Contrave prescription at over 70,000 pharmacies across the United States. Through the program, millions of U.S. adults living with obesity and weight-related health issues will have access to obesity treatment. "At Currax, we truly believe in access for all and putting patients at the center of everything we do," said George Hampton, CEO of Currax Pharmaceuticals. "By making our cash price available through GoodRx, we are continuing to reduce barriers and provide an easy path for patients to get the treatment they need to manage their weight and improve their overall health." Obesity is one of the most pressing health challenges in the U.S., yet many people still struggle to access effective treatment. By combining Currax's clinical leadership in obesity care with GoodRx's reach and reputation for affordability, this collaboration removes a major barrier for patients who may not otherwise have access to FDA-approved medications. Together, the two companies are helping more people take control of their health with greater confidence and fewer hurdles. "Though millions of Americans struggle with obesity, weight management medications can be cost-prohibitive—with or without insurance—causing many people to delay or abandon prescribed treatments. These types of access and affordability challenges are why many pharmaceutical companies partner with GoodRx to reduce friction," said Dorothy Gemmell, Chief Commercial Officer at GoodRx. "By working with Currax to help consumers save money on Contrave, we're helping close this gap and delivering a simple affordability solution that improves access to a life-changing medication." Contrave is an FDA-approved, prescription-only oral medication for adults with obesity or those who are overweight with weight-related medical problems, used as an adjunct to a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity. For more information or to access the GoodRx Contrave savings card, visit: *Program benefit maximums and eligibility restrictions may apply. About CurraxCurrax Pharmaceuticals LLC is a specialty pharmaceutical business focused on addressing the #1 and #2 causes of preventable death in the United States, smoking and obesity. Currax distributes a range of both branded and generic pharmaceutical products, including CONTRAVE® (naltrexone HCl/bupropion HCl), ONZETRA® Xsail® (sumatriptan nasal powder), Silenor® (doxepin), Treximet®, (sumatriptan/naproxen sodium), and the authorized generic of Treximet®. For more information, please visit About CONTRAVE: CONTRAVE®, is an extended-release fixed dose combination of naltrexone and bupropion (naltrexone HCL/bupropion HCL) indicated as an adjunct to a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity for chronic weight management in adults with an initial body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 or greater (obese), or adults with a BMI of 27 kg/m2 or greater (overweight) with at least one weight-related medical problem such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or type 2 diabetes. For full Prescribing Information, including BOXED Warning and Medication Guide, please go to Media Contactcurrax@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Currax Pharmaceuticals LLC Melden Sie sich an, um Ihr Portfolio aufzurufen.
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump's tax bill funds $6bn expansion of US-Mexico border surveillance, report finds
Donald Trump's sweeping tax bill will finance a vast expansion of surveillance along the US-Mexico border, according to a new report. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA) will give the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – where US immigration agencies are housed – an unprecedented injection of $165bn in additional funding over the next four years. It's welcome news for the surveillance and defense tech industries that have been racing to cash in on the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Signed into law on the Fourth of July, the OBBA earmarks more than $6bn of that spending for border technology, including surveillance, according to a new report by the immigration legal defense organization Just Futures Law. Among those standing to benefit are private prison corporations the GEO Group and Core Civic as well as surveillance firms such as Palantir and Anduril. US immigration agencies are seeking more funding for biometric data collection, license plate readers and phone hacking, the Just Futures Law report indicates. Related:Trump officials create searchable national citizenship database 'The spending is not about safety, it's about growing Trump's power through an agency like DHS,' said Laura Rivera, author of the report and senior staff attorney at Just Futures Law. 'I'm questioning why policing at the border should require this level of spending when the Trump administration is saying border crossing is at an all-time low.' Though many of these firms have already seen an increased investment from the federal government and the expansion of existing contracts since the start of the second Trump term, some executives have been banking on the additional funding swelling the budgets of immigration agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice). During a recent earnings call, for instance, executives at the Geo Group, which operates detention centers and sells surveillance products, repeatedly assured investors that they expected to see more 'momentum' for their businesses in the second half of the year once the Ice budget was finalized. Here's what the agencies are asking for, what the OBBA is giving them and who stands to profit the most: The biggest name among the firms that will see a windfall from the big funding boost to the DHS is Palantir. The data management company was previously awarded $30m in a new contract to build a platform called ImmigrationOS that makes deportations more efficient. As part of the contract, Palantir is reportedly enabling the government to bring together sensitive data on all Americans from the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration and the DHS. It's an unprecedented centralization of personal information by the federal government that civil liberties experts argue is a violation of privacy. The OBBA has allocated $673m to be spent on biometric systems – which collect and identify people based on physical attributes like their face or fingerprints – for ports of entry and exit. In April, for instance, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) put out a request for bids from firms that would help the agency perform real-time facial recognition on people inside vehicles crossing the borders. CBP previously signed a $16m contract with data broker LexisNexis for various services, including facial recognition. Since the start of 2024, CBP has awarded the little-known facial recognition firm Sentrillion nine contracts totaling $36.7m. According to its website, the company enables CBP officers to use 'voice and facial recognition from audio and video surveillance systems, as well as biometric fingerprint readers, to verify the identity of citizens'. CBP also has contracts with Clearview AI, which has been deployed at the US-Canada border, according to the Just Futures Law report. The DHS is also planning to ramp up its use of surveillance towers along the border. Supplied by firms like Peter Thiel-backed Anduril and the Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems, these automated surveillance structures are used to record and track who is crossing the border. CBP has asked for $140m for the upcoming fiscal year to construct more than 200 new towers along the border. The agency expects to have more than 900 towers up by September 2026, according to the report. Ice is looking to ramp up its social media surveillance capabilities with OBBA funding. In a request for information published in June, the agency sought an analytics firm to scour various sources of data including social media, geolocation and license plate reader information, financial information, international travel and crime data. The intention would be for the firm to analyze all of that information together to attempt to predict 'potentially criminal and fraudulent behavior before crime and fraud can materialize', according to the proposal. It's unclear how much funding is set aside for Ice's specific program, but the DHS has already implemented expanded screening procedures for visa applicants, including requiring their social media accounts be set to public. CBP has awarded a $1.2m contract for software developed by a company called Fivecast Onyx to scrape and analyze open source data, including social media.
Forbes
36 minutes ago
- Forbes
Are You Rewarding The Right Customers? Here's How To Close The Loyalty Gap
Derek White, CEO of Galileo, is a fintech pioneer with over 20 years of experience modernizing financial services globally. Consumer needs have outpaced the financial solutions built to serve them. Most Americans use debit as a primary payment method—more than 90% of U.S. adults have a debit card—but they're not getting rewarded for their spend or brand loyalty. Traditional loyalty programs were built around credit cards. Points, perks and upgrades are doled out to those who spend the most—on credit. However, this system ignores a huge segment of the population who chooses debit as their go-to payment method. Many younger, more budget-conscious consumers are overlooked in traditional loyalty strategies. That's a missed opportunity hiding in plain sight. Over the years, I've helped build financial technology across banks, startups and platform companies—each offering a different lens on how people interact with money. What's become clear to me is that we've been measuring the wrong thing. Loyalty isn't about how much credit someone uses. It's about how often they engage with your brand—and how you respond. The Case For Debit Rewards Most Americans have a debit card. That's not new. But what's shifted is intent. Younger demographics—especially Gen-Z—are opting into debit by choice. Many are debt-averse, others are part of the 46 million Americans considered 'credit invisible'—meaning they don't have a sufficient credit history to generate a credit score. Either way, they represent a growing population of consumers who show loyalty to brands through their spending behavior but are consistently excluded from loyalty ecosystems. This disconnect reveals something fundamental: Most loyalty programs weren't built for how many people actually pay today. They were built for a narrower view of value, one that's overdue for rethinking. A Lesson From The Past Early attempts at debit rewards fizzled—not just because of clunky tech, but because the economics were broken. Regulatory changes reshaped interchange fees and made traditional models hard to sustain. Brands couldn't justify the cost, and the infrastructure couldn't deliver the experience. But what didn't stick a decade ago is finally gaining traction—not because the idea changed, but because everything else did. Consumer preferences have transformed, and technology has evolved. The appetite for embedded finance has grown. And brands are far more invested in owning the full customer experience—not just the moment of purchase. We're finally seeing the conditions that make debit rewards viable: real-time processing, scalable APIs and platforms that bridge the gap between brands, banks and consumers. The tools exist to deliver value instantly and in context. That shift is what's unlocking debit's loyalty potential. The New Opportunity For Brands Brands aren't trying to be banks. But they do want to be closer to their customers. Financial tools—especially those built into everyday experiences—offer an ideal way to do that. It's not about creating gimmicky perks. It's about recognizing where consumer behavior already is and showing up there in relevant ways. If your best customers are paying with debit, rewarding them shouldn't feel like an edge case—it should be the default. The companies leaning into this space are responding to data. They see how often their customers use debit and realize that loyalty isn't tied to a payment method. It's tied to repeat purchase behavior. A New Kind Of Loyalty Model Here's the bigger picture: what's changing isn't customer loyalty, but the way brands recognize and reward it—moving from credit‑card spend to acknowledging repeat engagement, regardless of payment method. In the old model, the highest-value customers were those who charged the most to a branded credit card. In the new model, brands are recognizing customer loyalty through interactions and behaviors, not payment methods. That opens the door for financial tools that fit into a person's daily life—not just their occasional splurges. Debit rewards make this possible in a way that's sustainable. They allow brands to engage a broader customer base without pushing credit, and they provide a more inclusive on-ramp for customers who want to participate in loyalty programs without taking on new debt. This isn't about replacing what works. It's about expanding access to those who haven't had it. What To Watch For Next If the last era of loyalty was defined by credit-card points and airline miles, the next will be shaped by flexibility and showing up in the moments that customers care about most. Brands will build rewards systems that fit multiple payment types. Customers expect personalization across every brand interaction. And debit—often the most overlooked payment choice—will play a leading role in that transformation. This shift won't happen overnight. But for companies willing to meet their customers where they are—and reward them for how they actually behave—the upside is significant. There's a lesson here for anyone building loyalty strategies: Look past assumptions. Behavior changes fast. Expectations change faster. And the most valuable customers aren't always the ones your models were built to serve. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
