The IRS announced that the nation’s tax season will begin on January 29, 2018 and reminded taxpayers claiming certain tax credits that refunds won’t be available before late February.

Although the IRS will begin accepting electronic and paper tax returns on January 29^th, the IRS will begin processing paper returns later in mid February as system updates continue. The IRS strongly encourages people to file returns electronically for faster refunds.

The IRS set the Jan 29^th opening date to ensure the security and readiness of key tax processing systems in advance of the opening and to assess the potential impact of tax legislation on 2017 tax returns.

The IRS reminds taxpayers that, although returns will be processed when they are received, by law the IRS cannot issue refunds claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) before mid-February. This applies to the entire refund- even the portion not associated with the tax credits. 

The IRS expects the earliest EITC/ACTC related refunds to be available in taxpayers bank accounts or on debit cards starting on Feb 27, 2018, if they chose direct deposit and there are no issues with the tax return.

After refunds leave the IRS, it takes additional time for them to be processed and for financial institutions to accept and deposit the refunds to bank accounts and products. Many financial institutions do not process payments on weekends or holidays, which can effect when refunds reach taxpayers.

The filing deadline to submit 2017 tax returns is Tuesday, April 17, 2018  rather than the traditional April 15^th date. In 2018, April 15 falls on a Sunday, and this would usually move the filing deadline to the following Monday- April 16. However, Emancipation Day- a legal holiday in the District of Columbia- will be observed on that Monday, which pushes the nation’s filing deadline to Tuesday April 17^th. Under the tax law, legal holidays in the District of Columbia affect the filing deadline across the nation.

As always, you can count on our staff at Bergamo Tax & Accounting to assist with your questions or to help schedule an appointment to meet with one of our CPAs. Contact us today (860) 274-1655. We look forward to hearing from you!