IRS Tax Reminders for 2018

The IRS recently released a notice advising taxpayers on what to know for tax season 2018, but if you don’t want to read the whole notice, here’s a quick play-by-play covering the key takeaways:

Taxpayers Notice

• The 2018 tax filing season is underway, officially beginning Monday, Jan. 29 and ending on Tuesday, Apr. 17, giving tax filers two additional days to file beyond Apr. 15.
• The IRS expects nearly 155 million individual tax returns to be filed, and strongly encourages people to file their tax returns electronically for faster refunds, as electronic returns will be processed sooner than paper tax returns. Paper returns will begin processing later in mid-February as IRS system updates continue.
• The IRS reminds taxpayers that choosing e-file and direct deposit for refunds is the quickest and safest way to file an accurate income tax return and receive a refund. The IRS expects more than four out of five tax returns will be prepared electronically using tax software.
• Taxpayers claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) should know that the IRS cannot issue refunds before mid-February, due to stipulations in the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act.
  The earliest the IRS anticipates being able to issue EITC/ACTC related refunds are Feb. 27 if taxpayers choose direct deposit and there are no other issues with the tax return. The rules apply to the entire refund, even the portion not associated with the EITC and ACTC.
• The IRS anticipates it will issue more than nine out of ten refunds in less than 21 days, but taxpayers are reminded that once refunds are issued by the IRS, it takes time for financial institutions to process and deposit the funds.
• After filing their tax return, taxpayers can track their refund by going to the Where’s My Refund? ‎tool or the IRS2Go phone app.

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