The Internal Revenue says it will begin accepting 2014 tax returns on Jan. 20 – despite extensions of dozens of federal tax breaks by Congress last month.
Those extensions were enacted on Dec. 19, less than a month ago. However, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said the agency didn’t see a reason why the changes would interfere with a timely start-up to the new tax filing season.
Minnesota’s Department of Revenue quickly followed the fed’s lead, announcing that state taxpayers also can send in their income tax returns on Jan. 20.
However, Revenue Commissioner Myron Frans wasn’t as confident about a smooth filing season. He publicly asked the Legislature to square up state tax breaks with the new federal extensions right away. “If we do not conform quickly, Minnesotans may need to pay millions more in taxes and file additional forms with this year’s taxes,” he said.
Processing actually was slowed last year, when state legislators failed to coordinate state deductions with federal tax breaks until March. The delay forced Minnesota Revenue to revise tax forms and to review 1.4 million tax returns that already had been filed with prior forms.