WASHINGTON ― The Internal Revenue Service announced today that the nation’s
tax season will begin Monday, Jan. 29, 2018 and reminded taxpayers claiming
certain tax credits that refunds won’t be available before late February.
The IRS will begin accepting tax returns on Jan. 29, with nearly 155 million
individual tax returns expected to be filed in 2018. The nation’s tax deadline
will be April 17 this year – so taxpayers will have two additional days to file
beyond April 15.
Many software companies and tax professionals will be accepting tax returns
before Jan. 29 and then will submit the returns when IRS systems open. Although
the IRS will begin accepting both electronic and paper tax returns Jan. 29, paper
returns will begin processing later in mid-February as system updates continue.
The IRS strongly encourages people to file their tax returns electronically for
faster refunds.
The IRS set the Jan. 29 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, by law, the IRS cannot issue refunds
claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Additional Child Tax
Credit (ACTC) before mid-February. While the IRS will process those returns
when received, it cannot issue related refunds before mid-February. The IRS
expects the earliest EITC/ACTC related refunds to be available in taxpayer bank
accounts or on debit cards starting on Feb. 27, 2018, if they chose direct
deposit and there are no other issues with the tax return. The IRS
also reminds taxpayers that they should keep copies of their prior-year tax
returns for at least three years. Taxpayers who are using a tax software
product for the first time will need their adjusted gross income from their
2016 tax return to file electronically. Taxpayers who are using the same tax
software they used last year will not need to enter prior-year information to
electronically sign their 2017 tax return. Using an electronic filing PIN is no
longer an option. Taxpayers can visit
IRS.gov/GetReady
for more tips on preparing to file their 2017 tax return.
April 17 Filing Deadline
The filing deadline to submit 2017 tax returns is Tuesday, April 17, 2018,
rather than the traditional April 15 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, 2017. Under the tax law, legal holidays in the District of
Columbia affect the filing deadline across the nation.
The IRS also has been working with the tax industry and state revenue departments
as part of the
Security
Summit initiative to continue strengthening processing systems to protect
taxpayers from identity theft and refund fraud. The IRS and Summit partners
continued to improve these safeguards to further protect taxpayers filing in
2018.
For more info please visit:
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/2018-tax-filing-season-begins-jan-29-tax-returns-due-april-17-help-available-for-taxpayers
