Taxpayers Will See Changes This Filing Season

Tax time is here, and there are changes you’ll want to look out for.

First, you’ll have a few extra days to file your return this year. The deadline is April 18, not 15 due to a government holiday.

Also, don’t expect tax forms in the mail from the IRS. In an effort to encourage more people to file online, the IRS has stopped mailing forms for the first time this year. For those who want to file on paper, the forms can be downloaded at irs.com or picked up at a local IRS office.

The IRS is telling some taxpayers to wait until at least Valentine’s Day to file their returns. It’s because Congress waited until the last minute to pass important tax laws, and it didn’t leave the IRS enough time to update its computers. The biggest group affected is those who itemize their deductions on Schedule A instead of taking the standard deduction of $11,400 for married couples and $5,700 for single filers. Others affected are teachers who claim the $250 Educator Expense Deduction and those who take the Higher Education Tuition and Fees Deduction.

Tax professionals are also seeing a big change this year. For the first time they’re required to be licensed and registered with the IRS. Make sure your preparer has a a Preparer’s Tax Identification Number.

“It’s just a question to ask, ‘Are you registered with the IRS?’ and get a simple answer yes or no,” said Tom Baltuskonis, general manager at Jackson Hewitt Tax Service in Colorado Springs.

Tax professionals can have their number revoked if they file fraudulent returns.

“If you don’t have that number, the customer would know that the tax preparer isn’t really certified, may not be trained like they should be, and may miss things,” said Baltuskonis.

He said keeping up with new tax laws is a full time job, and if you do your own taxes you could miss some deductions, for instance mileage from driving to doctors visits.

“A lot of people don’t know they can deduct that, they don’t know all the deductions that are out there and all the credits,” Baltuskonis said. “And they change every year.”

A change to the tax law that most taxpayers can get behind, starting in January, Social Security withholdings were decreased by 2 percent, so your pay check will be little bigger than last year.