Eager to file your 2013 taxes? Want to shoot those numbers out of your computer and into the machines at the Internal Revenue Service as soon as possible?
Sooner may be better for you, but not for the IRS. Both the IRS and the Minnesota Department of Revenue have announced their starting dates for 2013 tax filings, and the federal government’s shutdown delayed things a bit.
Individuals
The tax collectors begin accepting 1040 forms and other returns from individual taxpayers – that includes businesses that file through the 1040 system – on Friday, Jan. 31, 2014. That’s the date when the IRS computers will open and processing will begin.
The deadline is the same for either e-file (electronic) or paper tax returns. “The IRS cautioned that it will not process any tax returns before Jan. 31, so there is no advantage to filing on paper before the opening date,” according to the agency.
Of course, an accountant or tax preparation service probably will want to have your figures as soon as possible to prepare your return. But even they won’t be able to hasten processing or speed up an IRS refund.
Businesses
Corporations, partnerships and other businesses will be able to file their 2013 returns about 2½ weeks earlier on Monday Jan. 13. They typically deal with the IRS through its Business Master File. Among the federal returns being accepted then are: Forms 1120 (corporations), 1120S (S corporations), 1065 (partnerships); 1041 (estates and trusts).
Again, this date does not include filings for many small businesses — sole proprietors, landlords, farmers, etc. — whose main return is a Form 1040.
Minnesota basically has pegged its start-up to the federal dates. The Minnesota return uses the federal tax return as its starting point.
What did the government shutdown have to do with it?
The IRS originally scheduled Jan. 21 as its start date for individual tax returns, and that actually would have been nine days ahead of last year’s opening; instead, it now will be one day later than last year. The October shutdown halted close to 90 percent of IRS operations “during the peak period for preparing IRS (computer) systems for the 2014 filing season,” the IRS said in a written release. It threw the work of programming and testing more than 50 IRS systems off schedule by nearly three weeks, the agency said.
Federal and state tax returns for 2013 still will be due on April 15, 2014. As in past years, the IRS is encouraging all individual taxpayers to file electronic returns through either its e-file or Free File systems.
.The online word from IRS: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/2014-Tax-Season-to-Open-Jan.-31;-efile-and-Free-File-Can-Speed-Refunds