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IRS encourages taxpayers to e-file, Deadline to File Your Tax Returns is April 17
As published in the Clarion Ledger.
The Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday began accepting e-file and Free File returns for the 2012 tax-filing season.
Taxpayers have until April 17 to file their 2011 returns and pay any tax due because April 15, the usual tax filing deadline, falls this year on a Sunday. In addition, Emancipation Day, a holiday observed in Washington, D.C. on April 16, falls this year on a Monday. Taxpayers requesting an extension will have until Oct. 15 to file their returns and avoid late penalties.
Dee Stepter, IRS spokeswoman for Mississippi, said taxpayers can expect a few changes this year, mostly due to inflation adjustments.
Legislation enacted in 2010 extended several popular tax benefits, including the American Opportunity Tax Credit for parents and students, the enhanced child tax credit and the expanded Earned Income Tax Credit, Stepter said.
Also, workers will see the Social Security tax or payroll tax at the lowered 4.2 percent through Feb. 29.
Taxpayers who claimed the first-time homebuyer credit in 2008 must generally make the second of 15 annual repayment installments on their 2011 return. Though the credit has expired for most homebuyers, certain members of the armed forces and other taxpayers who bought a home in early 2011 may still qualify for the credit, Stepter said.
The IRS strongly encourages taxpayers to e-file their returns, saying the option is safe, quick and easy. A new regulation requires a business to e-file if it files more than 11 returns.
Maureen Scott, a certified public accountant at Horne LLP in Ridgeland, said some major tax provisions expired at the end of 2011. The optional sales tax deduction, the educator expense deduction, the tuition and fees deduction, the energy efficient home credit and IRA charitable contributions were among the provisions that expired Dec. 31. However, these provisions could be reinstated by Congress.
"Everyone hopes we're going to have some legislation, but with it being an election year, you just never know," Scott said.
Tax professionals also face some changes this year. All paid tax preparers must file a "due diligence checklist" with all Earned Income Tax Credit claims. This is the same checklist that is required to be completed and retained in a preparer's records, according to the IRS.
Also, the IRS has revamped how individual investors report capital gains and losses on their personal tax returns, said Jennifer O'Quinn, a partner at GranthamPoole accounting firm in Jackson.
With Form 8949, investors and stockbrokers must complete paperwork that reports the amount of the transaction, which is filed with the IRS.
"The IRS will match what the broker reports to what's reported
on your return," O'Quinn said.
Stepter advises taxpayers e-file early, meaning faster
refunds.
Last year, the average refund was about $2,900.
"If you combine e-file and direct deposit, the IRS can typically issue your refund in as few as 10 days," Stepter said.
Taxpayers may be able to prepare and file their returns at no charge through the IRS Free File program, Stepter said.
Free File, a partnership between the IRS and private tax software developers, is designed to encourage taxpayers to file their returns electronically.
This year, the program is open to taxpayers with adjusted gross income of $57,000 or less, which covers about 70 percent of taxpayers.
About 20 tax software providers make versions of their of their Free File products available exclusively online at www.irs.gov/freefile.
"If you combine e-file and direct deposit, the IRS can typically issue your refund in as few as 10 days."
Dee Stepter, IRS spokeswoman for Mississippi.
