A Lowdown on the 2017 Tax Season

The Internal Revenue Service has officially announced when the opening bell for the 2017 tax season will ring, signaling the start of when the federal tax collection agency will begin processing federal income tax returns. There are also some other important changes of note.

So, here is our preview of the 2017 tax season with the important dates you should now start marking down on your calendar:

• Monday, January 23, 2017: Tax season officially opens at the IRS. This is when the agency will begin processing federal income tax returns.
• Tuesday, January 31, 2017: A copy of Form W-2 must be provided to employees listing all W-2 income each employee earned in 2016. This financial information must then be reported on Form 1040 when filing personal taxes. In addition, Form 1099-MISC must be sent out to independent contractors that lists all 1099 income an employer paid an independent contractor for work performed in 2016.
• Wednesday, February 15, 2017: Tax refunds are expected to start being sent out by this date for early filers. This date is delayed a bit compared to previous years because of new IRS regulations to take a closer look at tax returns claiming either the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Additional Child Tax Credit. The regulations were put into motion as a means of reducing tax fraud.
• Wednesday, March 15, 2017: This is when several business income tax returns are due to the IRS. Partnership returns (Form 1065) are now due by this date, along with S corporation returns (Form 1120S).
• Tuesday, April 18, 2017: Because Emancipation Day is observed on April 17^thin Washington, D.C. in 2017, Tax Day has been pushed to April 18^th. This gives taxpayers a few extra days to prepare for the deadline. Personal income tax returns (Form 1040 and the like) are due. It’s also the new filing deadline for C corporation returns (Form 1120). Plus, estimated tax payments (Form 1040-ES) for the first quarter of 2017 are due. Finally, if you need an extension to file, be sure to request it by this date.

From the IRS Commissioner…

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen gave a statement about the upcoming 2017 tax season and the work that has been put in by his agency to prepare for it.

“The opening of filing season reflects months and months of work by IRS employees,” Koskinen said. “This year, we had a number of important legislative changes to program into our systems, including the EITC refund date, as well as dealing with resource limitations. Our systems require extensive programming and testing beforehand to ensure we’re ready to accept and process more than 150 million returns.”

He added that preparation on the part of taxpayers is more critical than ever this year.

“For this tax season, it’s more important than ever for taxpayers to plan ahead. People should make sure they have their year-end tax statements in hand, and we encourage people to file as they normally would, including those claiming the credits affected by the refund delay. Even with these significant changes, IRS employees and the entire tax community will be working hard to make this a smooth filing season for taxpayers.”