Here it is. The Internal Revenue Service says taxpayers can start sending in 2016 income tax returns on Jan. 23 – about five weeks from now. That’s when the tax agency will start processing an estimated 153 million returns
Four out of five of them will arrive electronically, the tabulators at IRS say. Now, in case you’re wondering, you really can’t rush a refund along faster by filing an early paper return. The IRS says it will start working through all its 2016 returns on the 23rd.
So, when is this year’s due date? Well, the way the calendar falls, taxpayers once again will have another three days beyond the traditional deadline of April 15 to finish up. The filing deadline is Tuesday, April 18. That’s because Emancipation Day is being observed in the District of Columbia on Monday, the 17th and the deadline cannot fall on that local holiday under current federal law.
Let’s talk refunds. For this tax season, we taxpayers generally can look forward to receiving refunds within 21 days, the agency says. But, as we told you last week, refunds from returns claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit will not be available until at least Feb. 15. As a practical matter, with the President’s Day weekend intervening, the week of Feb. 27 might be a better guideline for those refunds, even if they are sent by direct deposit, the IRS suggests.
Finally, one urgent note for any taxpayers using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) instead of a Social Security number. Check on its expiration date. If it hasn’t been used on a tax return at least one time in the past three years, it expires on Jan. 1, 2017. If so, move quickly to get it re-issued. Having an outdated number can delay processing and even interfere temporarily with some tax benefits, the IRS says.
Will you be well-prepared for the coming tax season? We at EricJohn Ltd. are ready to prepare federal and state tax returns for individual taxpayers or small businesses. As an IRS-approved enrolled agent, owner Eric Buechler also can troubleshoot unforeseen problems.
Stay tuned, too. We’ll be talking more about tax issues in the coming months.