It’s official: January 30th will be the first day to e-file taxes in 2013!
Well, this was hardly a surprise. The IRS announced Tuesday that it was kicking forward the opening of the 2013 tax season to Wednesday, Jan 30th. That’s a full eight days later than the previously announced January 22nd marker, which was itself set five days past the Jan 17 date on which the 2012 season began.
It would be cheap, at best, to blame the Taxman. After the protracted end of year mess in Washington, the agency could hardly have been expected to have all its t’s crossed and its many i’s dotted by mid-month. For anyone in need of a reminder, legislation to pull the nation off the fiscal cliff was only passed on the second day of the year!
“We have worked hard to open tax season as soon as possible,” said IRS Acting Commissioner Steven Miller in a statement issued Tuesday.. “This date ensures we have the time we need to update and test our processing systems,” he added.
So when does tax season start in 2013? The old 22nd date, on which e-filing was set to begin, left open the option of paper filing your tax return hours after the din of the fireworks had died down, which is to say on Jan 1st. This will not be possible this time around.
Instead, both e-file and paper filing will have to wait for the end of January’s opening bell, further reducing the incentive to paper file. In the IRS’s estimate, more than 80 million taxpayers filed online last year. This is a number the agency’s brass is intent on increasing.
Starting Jan 30, the large majority of taxpayers, or roughly 120 million households, will be able to file their tax return, whether they go online or put pencil to paper. The rest, notably those claiming residential energy and some business credits, will have to wait longer, until late February and possibly into March.
Photo via Scott S on Flickr.
What is the issue with rental income/loss that is holding up processing of returns?
Hi Deborah,
Thanks to the fiscal cliff, the IRS had to delay the processing of several forms. In this case I assume you are referring to Form 8582 [Passive Activity Loss Limitations]. You can see the full list here: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/List-of-IRS-forms-that-1040-filers-can-begin-filing-in-late-February-or-into-March-2013. According to the IRS they should be ready to process these returns beginning the first week of March.
Is there a refund tracker for your site I can use for u guys company and my 21 days will be up on Sunday still no date yet thanks
Hi Amber,
If you filed taxes with us, you can log back in to your account and go to your status page. It should tell you the status of your return there.