Christmas is over, the turkey is digesting in our bellies and the unrelenting reality of tax season is upon us. For the next few months, Americans will be undergoing the pain of filing their tax forms and paying the taxman.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced Tuesday that the date to begin filing taxes is Jan. 20, 2015. The tax collecting agency said tax season will start on time despite a number of budget cuts and President Obama signing into law tax break extenders at the last minute.
“We have reviewed the late tax law changes and determined there was nothing preventing us from continuing our updating and testing of our systems,” said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen in a statement. “Our employees will continue an aggressive schedule of testing and preparation of our systems during the next month to complete the final stages needed for the 2015 tax season.”
Prior to the holiday break, Congress passed and extended more than 50 tax breaks that would have expired at the end of the year. The new law will allow taxpayers to claim the tax breaks on their 2014 tax returns.
A considerable number of Americans file their taxes within the first several weeks in order to receive their refunds as quickly as possible – perhaps to pay off that hefty credit card bill from Christmas.
Last year, the IRS issued nearly 50 million refunds within the first two months with an average return of $3,034. The IRS urges taxpayers to file electronically if they wish for the utmost accuracy and a timely refund.
Unfortunately for millions of Americans, tax season isn’t filled with rosy scenarios and fat checks. Next year will be the first year that the IRS starts collecting fines from those who do not have health insurance, according to the laws under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The only way Americans can avoid paying the fine is if they qualify for one of 30 exemptions, which are mostly related to financial difficulties.
