2024-2025 Tax Refund Calculator

Estimate your federal tax refund for free today!

Wondering what to expect when you file your taxes in 2025? Use our free calculator to estimate your tax refund or liability before you sit down to file. Rest assured that our calculations are up to date with current tax brackets and tax law changes to give you the most accurate estimate. Enter your information for the year, and let our calculator do the rest.


How the TaxSlayer refund calculator works

The TaxSlayer refund calculator estimates your refund based on your filing status, number of dependents, total income, tax withholdings, payments you’ve already made, and major credits and deductions you qualify for.

Using the information you provide, we'll calculate your taxable income and expected tax refund or liability amount.

  1. Enter your personal information
    • Filing Status: Select whether you’ll file Single, Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately, Head of Household, or Qualifying Widow(er).
    • Dependents: Enter the number of dependents you can claim and how old they are. This can affect your eligibility for certain tax credits and deductions.
    • Age: You’re asked to enter your age (and the age of your spouse if you’re married), because that can influence certain tax credits or deductions.
  2. Fill out your income information
    • Wages, salaries, and tips: Enter your income from employment, as reported on your W-2 forms.
    • Other income: Include additional income sources like self-employment income, interest, dividends, rental income, or unemployment benefits.
    • Adjustments to income: Enter any adjustments, such as contributions to retirement accounts, student loan interest payments, or educator expenses.
  3. Estimate your credits and deductions
    • Standard or itemized deductions: You’ll choose whether to take the standard deduction or itemize your deductions (such as mortgage interest, property taxes, or charitable contributions). The calculator will provide estimates for some common deductions.
    • Tax credits: Enter any tax credits you qualify for, such as the Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, education credits, or energy-saving credits.
  4. Enter your tax withholding amount
    • Federal and state taxes withheld: Input the amount of federal and state taxes withheld from your paychecks throughout the year. You can find this info reported on your W-2 forms.
    • Estimated tax payments: If you’re self-employed or have additional income sources that aren’t subject to withholding, include any estimated tax payments you made during the year.

The refund calculator's default assumptions

Based on your input, these tax liability and credit amounts are automatically calculated and applied to your results:
  • Child Care Credit
  • Retirement Savings Contributions Credit
  • Child Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit
  • Earned Income Credit (EIC)
  • Taxable Social Security
  • Self-Employment Tax
If you don’t enter any itemized deductions, the calculator will apply the standard deduction.

Documents you need to use the tax refund calculator

You don’t need to have all your current year tax forms to use the calculator, but your results will depend on the accuracy of the information you enter. For this reason, we recommend having these records handy if possible:
  • All W-2 Wage and Tax Statements (for yourself and your spouse if applicable)
  • Any and all Form 1099s
  • Any other miscellaneous income records
  • Child and dependent care expenses
  • Education expenses
  • Business expense records
  • Quarterly estimated tax payment receipts
  • Contributions to an IRA, 529, or other retirement accounts
  • Student loan interest paid
  • Unreimbursed medical expenses
  • Real estate tax
  • Mortgage interest
  • Charitable donation receipts
To save time when you’re ready to file, it helps to gather your forms and tax documents before you begin. Check out our tax document checklist for a full list of the records you’ll need to make slaying your taxes easier this year.

Benefits of using a tax refund estimator

A tax refund estimator gives you an idea of how much money you can expect to get back after you file your taxes. This allows you to plan for and make informed decisions around budgeting, savings, or any specific expenses you intend to cover with your tax refund.

Using our tax refund calculator is risk-free and has no impact on your actual refund.

Next steps after estimating your tax refund

Once you’ve gotten your estimated refund amount, you can always adjust your entries to see how changes in income, deductions, or credits might affect your refund or tax liability.

When you’re ready to begin filing your income tax return, TaxSlayer has several options, so you can find the right one for your unique tax situation and budget. Compare our online tax software.


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Frequently asked questions about estimating your tax refund

Still wondering how our tax refund calculator works? We’ve answered some more common questions about estimating your tax refund in the section below.
Also available for iPhone and Android.
The TaxSlayer Online Refund Calculator is provided for estimation purposes. It is in no way intended to be used in the preparation and filing of forms with the IRS. This is provided as a complimentary service on an as-is basis and TaxSlayer makes no warranty as to the accuracy of the calculations or results. Use of this calculator is subject to the TaxSlayer Terms of Use and TaxSlayer Privacy Policy.

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