Beginning of the tax return period postponed to February 12

But it also means that some taxpayers might have to wait longer than usual for their refund.

Urge electronic filing: The IRS said it expects 9 out of 10 taxpayers to receive their refunds within 21 days of filing – if they file their return electronically, they have direct deposit of their payments and there is no has no problem with their statement.

If recipients of earned income tax credits and additional children follow the same process, they are likely to receive their refunds by the first week of March, the agency said.

“It would be the same experience for [those] taxpayers if the filing period opens at the end of January. “

Not without precedent: The filing season start date has sometimes slipped to February in the past, often because Congress amended some tax laws at the end of the previous calendar year.

This happened in December, when Congress made some temporary tax provisions permanent, extended others for five years, and also ordered the IRS to distribute economic relief payments to millions of Americans. ‘here Friday.

Pandemic challenges: Against the backdrop of all of this, routine IRS operations have been hampered for much of the past year due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, including a multi-million mail backlog that has slowed down the processing last year’s tax returns and refunds.

The IRS announced earlier Friday that tax preparation companies that partner with the Free File Alliance agency can accept returns now. Taxpayers are eligible for free use of tax software to file their returns if they earn $ 72,000 or less.

“Given the pandemic, this is one of the most important filing seasons in the country,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “This start date will ensure that people get the necessary tax refunds quickly while also ensuring that they receive the remaining stimulus payments. Eligible for as quickly as possible.”