COLUMBUS, Ind. — Tax filing season begins on January 23, and there are some important things to be aware of this year.
Taxes are usually due on April 15, but this year that falls on Saturday, Emancipation Day, which is a holiday in Washington D.C., and will be observed Monday, April 17. That will make Tuesday, April 18, 2017, as the filing date for 2016 taxes.
A new law will delay refunds to moderate income taxpayers. The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act (PATH Act), requires the IRS to withhold refunds for people claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit until mid-February. The change is intended to provide the IRS more time to prevent and detect tax fraud. These refunds could hit bank accounts as late as the week of February 27.
Some Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITIN) will have to be renewed. Any ITIN that has not been used in the last three years, or those with middle digits of 78 or 79, must be renewed before the return will be processed. An ITIN renewal application could take up to 11 weeks.
The ITIN program is used for residents who are obligated to pay taxes, but not eligible for a social security number.
For more information, look online at irs.gov/refunds.
