Tax Season Begins, And You Have Extra Days

You may groan, but inevitably tax season begins again on January 23rd, and this year filers have until April 18th to file. As always, the IRS has issued some useful reminders to taxpayers, including to keep copies of their tax returns for the last three years, and that the gross income from your 2015 return will be needed if you are changing to a different tax software product. IRS commissioner John Koskinen reminds taxpayers about the thousands of IRS employees that work hard to make the filing and refund process fast and efficient, especially given legislative changes such as the EITC refund date. The IRS has also been committed to working with state revenue departments and the tax industry, to try to reduce fraud and abuse throughout the entire system.

If you are expecting a refund soon after tax season begins, keep in mind that your refund may be delayed for various reasons. These include on returns that claim either the additional child tax credit, or the earned income tax credit, and the reason is to minimize fraud. Financial and banking systems also need time to process deposits for a refund, meaning that you may not see your refund until towards the end of February. If you are wondering where your tax refund is, regardless of your tax situation, the easiest way to track it is by using the Where's My Refund feature on the IRS website.