UPDATE 12/29/2014. The Tax Delay is over. The IRS has announced the official start to Tax Season 2015. Read more.
Good morning and we hope that everyone had a great Christmas break. We enjoyed ours and have decided to catch up on the latest Tax Season 2015 news. Tax Delay 2015 might not be near as bad as previously reported by IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. The Wall-Street Journal reported last Thursday that it expects the 2015 Tax Filing Season to start in middle January. We still are set on the January 20, 2015 tax filing first IRS acceptance date.
IRS officials still need to make sure their systems are prepared for new demands for 2015. But “at this point, it appears we are on track,” Commissioner John Koskinen said at a news conference.
This is great news for tax payers expected 2015 Tax Refunds for their 2014 Tax Returns. This does not specify whether there will be a delay in time taxes are filed and taxes are accepted. We would expect this to not be a major tax delay for most. This is great news and we have tended to post more negative than good news lately, so we wanted to share this information. Read the full story below and comment if you have any questions and would like to discuss this more.
WASHINGT0N—The 2015 tax-filing season is likely headed for an on-time start, the Internal Revenue Service chief said Thursday, despite congressional negotiations over tax provisions that lasted until mid-December.
IRS officials still need to make sure their systems are prepared for new demands for 2015. But “at this point, it appears we are on track,” Commissioner John Koskinen said at a news conference.
At the same time, he said a recent $345.6 million budget cut the agency received from Congress could delay processing of some returns, and the timing of refunds, if the IRS decides to reduce overtime. The agency is imposing a hiring freeze in response to the budget decrease, hoping to avoid furloughs. It is, however, hiring seasonal workers.
The cut “is a significant challenge,” Mr. Koskinen said. He warned that further cuts to the IRS budget could mean “the wheels are going to start falling off.”
The filing season usually starts in mid-January. It often has been delayed in recent years because of late action on tax laws by Congress.
Much of the additional IRS workload stems from President Barack Obama ’s signature health-care overhaul. For months, experts have been predicting confusion surrounding the 2015 filing season, as millions of Americans face the task of establishing that they have the required insurance coverage to avoid paying penalties.
Some taxpayers who received tax breaks for health coverage under the law will have to figure out whether they got the right amount or owe the government money. That could mean more questions for agency workers, as well as new return-processing demands.
The IRS also is dealing with new requirements from another recent law aimed at reducing tax dodging by Americans using foreign financial accounts, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.
The tax-filing season begins when the IRS starts processing returns. This year, IRS officials were concerned that lawmakers would fail to extend about 50 temporary tax breaks in time. Tuesday’s Senate passage of legislation on the tax breaks likely gives the agency enough time to prepare, Mr. Koskinen said.
Does this mean that Tax Delay 2015 is over before it started? We hope so.
