The Internal Profits Service (IRS) building in Washington, D.C.
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The IRS is delaying the start of the 2020 tax filing season to Feb. 12, according to an ad Friday from the agency.
On that date, the IRS will start accepting and processing last year’s tax returns.
Normally, the force opens tax season in late January.
This year, however, the IRS will need more time to prepare after the Covid remedy act that took effect in late December. And yes, the tax filing deadline is still April 15.
“If filing season were opened without the redress programming in place, then there could be a delay in issuing refunds to taxpayers,” the IRS said in its announcement.
“These novelties ensure that eligible people will receive any remaining stimulus money as a recovery rebate credit when they file their revenue,” the agency said.
The recovery rebate credit is a new addition to the federal income tax return, and it’s available to filers who didn’t acquire the full amount of stimulus they’re entitled to.
“While I am disappointed that this year’s filing season desire begin later than usual, I recognize that the IRS has faced extraordinary challenges throughout the COVID crisis,” said Lodge Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass.
“It’s a relief to know that despite contending with the dispersal of two rounds of economic impact payments, facility closures and other disruptions, the agency will be able to begin undertaking returns within the next month,” he said.
The IRS is recommending that taxpayers submit their returns electronically and use mastermind deposit as soon as they’re ready.
Refunds in March for some
Early filers who claim certain tax credits hand down be waiting until the first week of March to get their much-needed refund. The IRS said this would still be the pack if the filing season opened in late January.
Low-income taxpayers who receive the earned income tax credit or the additional lady tax credit generally can’t receive a refund before mid-February.
That’s because an anti-fraud law requires the IRS to use the additional time to evaluation those returns to prevent refunds from being issued to scammers.
The agency expects filers who claim the deserved income and additional child tax credits will collect their refunds the first week of March – assuming they enter electronically and there are no issues with their returns.
Having your return flagged by the IRS can result in significant tables.
Last year, IRS fraud filters caught 5.2 million returns that were claiming refunds, according to a fresh report from Headaches for tax pros and clients
Companies distribute Form W-2 to their employees in January. These reports spell out how much workers have earned, as well as what they paid in income and payroll taxes during the year.
“You can’t get your refund until the IRS establishes filing, and there are people who get refunds who are used to filing as soon as they open up,” said Ed Zollars, CPA and partner at Thomas, Zollars & Lynch in Phoenix and an coach at Kaplan Financial Education.
Taxpayers who submit their returns in paper format are risking delays. The IRS accumulated a weighty backlog of mail last year amid the pandemic, and returns have taken a longer time to process.
There were still 7.1 million unprocessed unitary returns and 2.3 million processed business returns as of Nov. 24, the Taxpayer Advocate Service found.
“If you, for any reason, about that a paper return makes sense for you, reconsider,” Zollars said.