The IRS has announced that the tax filing season for tax year 2017 will open on January 29, 2018. Although this means that they will begin accepting electronic and paper filed returns on that day, paper filed returns will not be processed until sometime in February. This is one of numerous reasons why filing electronically is advantageous. Taxpayers who electronically file their return will receive their refund faster than those who file on paper. Tax season will end on April 17, 2018.
Any tax return that claims the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) will be delayed again this filing season. As a requirement of the PATH Act, no refunds will be issued prior to February 15, 2018 to allow for review and verification of eligibility to claim these credits. The entire refund will be held, not just the amounts of the credits claimed. With a normal turn around time of 10-21 days, the IRS expects the first refunds to be available on February 27th for returns claiming these credits.
The updated amounts for some common items are as follows: the personal exemption amount remains the same at $4,050 per exemption; the standard deduction for filing status of single and married filing separately increases from $6,300 to $6,350; married filing jointly increases from $12,600 to $12,700 and head of household has increased from $9,300 to $9,350; the standard business mileage rate has dropped from $.54 per mile to $.535 per mile; the adoption credit has increased from $13,460 to $13,570.
These are just a few updates for the 2017 tax filing season. Please contact your tax professional to discuss how these and other changes not listed could impact your tax return. If you are looking for a tax professional, we would be honored to partner with you. Our firm will work to maximize your credits and deductions therefore eliminating the stress of navigating the tax code on your own.