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Tax Relief

Tax Day is April 15: 5 moves that can still lower your 2025 tax bill

Your 2025 tax year ended in December, but some of the most useful decisions are still open this week. Here's what you can still do, and how to approach it calmly.

Published by Nora Hayes
6 min read
A desk with a 1040 tax form, a pen, coffee and a calendar with April 15 circled.
A desk with a 1040 tax form, a pen, coffee and a calendar with April 15 circled.

Many people assume their 2025 tax bill was settled the moment the calendar turned to January. It's an understandable belief, but it isn't quite right. Several choices stay open until Wednesday, April 15, and a few of them can still change what you owe.

There's no need to rush. Let's walk through the five that matter most, one at a time.

Where the season stands

The IRS describes this filing season as running smoothly. In its April 2 update, the agency counted more than 78 million returns filed and about 57 million refunds issued. The average refund was $3,571, more than 10% higher than last year, and over 80% of refunds went out in less than 21 days (IR-2026-43).

The agency's weekly figures through March 27 point the same way: an average refund of $3,521, up 11.1% from the same week in 2025 (IRS filing season statistics).

If you haven't filed yet, you're in good company. There is still time to do it properly.

Bar chart showing the average federal refund rising from $3,170 to $3,521, up 11.1%.
Bar chart showing the average federal refund rising from $3,170 to $3,521, up 11.1%.

Move 1: Make a 2025 contribution to a traditional IRA

You can still put money into an IRA for 2025 until April 15, 2026. The 2025 limit is $7,000 across all your traditional and Roth IRAs combined, or $8,000 if you were 50 or older (IRS Publication 590-A, 2025).

In plain English: a contribution to a traditional IRA may be subtracted from your taxable income, so you're taxed on less. A Roth IRA contribution won't lower this year's bill. Its reward comes later, when qualified withdrawals come out tax-free.

Whether your traditional IRA contribution is deductible depends on your income and on whether you or your spouse had a retirement plan at work. Publication 590-A walks through those rules.

One date to note: an extension does not give you more time here. The deadline for 2025 IRA contributions stays April 15.

Move 2: Top up your HSA

If you were covered by a high-deductible health plan in 2025, you can still make 2025 contributions to a health savings account through April 15. The 2025 limits are $4,300 for self-only coverage and $8,550 for family coverage, plus $1,000 more if you were 55 or older by the end of the year (IRS Publication 969, 2025).

In plain English: what you put into an HSA yourself is generally deductible, and the account can later pay for qualified medical costs without tax.

Move 3: Check the four new deductions on Schedule 1-A

This is the first season for Schedule 1-A, a new form that collects four deductions created by last year's tax law. You can claim them whether you itemize or take the standard deduction (IRS fact sheet FS-2026-04):

  • Tips: up to $25,000 of qualified tip income.
  • Overtime: up to $12,500 of qualified overtime pay, or $25,000 on a joint return.
  • Car loan interest: up to $10,000 of interest on a loan for a new vehicle, taken out after 2024. Used vehicles don't qualify, and the loan and car must meet further requirements.
  • Seniors: up to $6,000 for each person 65 or older, so up to $12,000 for a married couple who both qualify.

Every one of the four phases out at higher incomes and requires a Social Security number valid for employment. Married couples claiming the tip or overtime deduction must file a joint return.

In plain English: a deduction reduces the income you're taxed on. It isn't a dollar-for-dollar refund, but for many working families and retirees these four can add up to a real difference.

Move 4: Not ready? Extend, and pay what you can

If you can't finish by April 15, request an extension by that date and your new filing deadline becomes October 15, 2026. The IRS lists three ways to ask: through IRS Free File, by filing Form 4868, or by making an electronic payment and marking it as an extension payment (IR-2026-44).

Keep one distinction in mind. The extension moves the paperwork, not the bill. Tax you owe is still due on April 15, and interest begins after that date. For the quarter that started April 1, the IRS charges 6% a year on individual underpayments (Revenue Ruling 2026-5).

Step by step: why filing on time matters, even if you can't pay

  1. Suppose you owe $2,000 and can't pay it this month.
  2. If you neither file nor extend, the late-filing penalty is usually 5% of the unpaid tax for each month or part of a month, up to 25%. One month late adds roughly $100 ( Form 4868 instructions, 2025 ).
  3. If you file or extend on time but can't pay, the late-payment penalty is usually ½ of 1% a month, also capped at 25%. One month adds roughly $10.
  4. Interest is charged on top in both cases.

That difference, about ten to one, is the reason to file or extend on time even when the money isn't there yet. Pay what you can by April 15, and look at the IRS online payment plans for the rest.

Move 5: Keep your filing costs, and your wait, low

If your 2025 income was $89,000 or less, IRS Free File lets you file electronically at no charge (IR-2026-44). Choose direct deposit as well. The IRS says most refunds sent that way arrive within 21 days, while paper checks take one to three weeks longer (IR-2026-43).

Who should look most closely

  • Workers who earned tips or overtime pay in 2025.
  • Anyone who was 65 or older at the end of 2025.
  • Anyone who financed a new car in 2025.
  • Anyone with a high-deductible health plan, or with earned income and no IRA contribution yet.
  • Anyone who owes money and is tempted to skip filing altogether.

The long view: April 15 is a deadline, not a verdict. A few calm decisions this week, and the habit of revisiting them earlier next year, will serve you far better than any last-minute scramble.

Sources

This article is for education only. It is not tax, legal or investment advice and not a recommendation to buy or sell anything. Tax rules depend on your situation; consult a licensed tax professional or financial adviser.

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