The Internal Revenue Service announced today that the nation’s tax season will begin Monday, Jan. 23, 2017 and reminded taxpayers claiming certain tax credits to expect a longer wait for refunds. January 23rd marks the first day that the IRS will be accepting electronically filed tax returns .
Nonetheless, the IRS also reminded taxpayers that a new law requires the IRS to hold refunds claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) until Feb. 15. Any returns that claim either of these credits will have refunds held until February 15th. Note that this is the day they begin to process the delayed refunds, not the day they will arrive. It is most likely that the refunds will arrive after February 27th.
Irregardless, the sooner one files the sooner they'll get the refund once the IRS begins processing them. Taxpayers who do not claim either of these credits will receive refunds on a typical schedule, usually 7 - 10 days for a direct deposit and 2 - 3 weeks for a check in the mail.
For those who usually owe money this information is irrelevant, expect to say that filing early provides taxpayers with the amount due. The payment does not need to be sent in until April 18th even if that taxes are filed early. Filing early is a good planning tool to avoid surprises that may happen when waiting until the last minute to file.
April 18 Filing Deadline
The filing deadline to submit 2016 tax returns is Tuesday, April 18, 2017, rather than the traditional April 15 date. In 2017, April 15 falls on a Saturday, and this would usually move the filing deadline to the following Monday – April 17. 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 18, 2017.
Nonetheless, the IRS also reminded taxpayers that a new law requires the IRS to hold refunds claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) until Feb. 15. Any returns that claim either of these credits will have refunds held until February 15th. Note that this is the day they begin to process the delayed refunds, not the day they will arrive. It is most likely that the refunds will arrive after February 27th.
Irregardless, the sooner one files the sooner they'll get the refund once the IRS begins processing them. Taxpayers who do not claim either of these credits will receive refunds on a typical schedule, usually 7 - 10 days for a direct deposit and 2 - 3 weeks for a check in the mail.
For those who usually owe money this information is irrelevant, expect to say that filing early provides taxpayers with the amount due. The payment does not need to be sent in until April 18th even if that taxes are filed early. Filing early is a good planning tool to avoid surprises that may happen when waiting until the last minute to file.
April 18 Filing Deadline
The filing deadline to submit 2016 tax returns is Tuesday, April 18, 2017, rather than the traditional April 15 date. In 2017, April 15 falls on a Saturday, and this would usually move the filing deadline to the following Monday – April 17. 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 18, 2017.