JL Tax Services

IR-2019-01, January 7, 2019

WASHINGTON ― Despite the government shutdown, the Internal Revenue Service today confirmed that it will process tax returns beginning January 28, 2019 and provide refunds to taxpayers as scheduled.

“We are committed to ensuring that taxpayers receive their refunds notwithstanding the government shutdown. I appreciate the hard work of the employees and their commitment to the taxpayers during this period,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig.

Congress directed the payment of all tax refunds through a permanent, indefinite appropriation (31 U.S.C. 1324), and the IRS has consistently been of the view that it has authority to pay refunds despite a lapse in annual appropriations. Although in 2011 the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed the IRS not to pay refunds during a lapse, OMB has reviewed the relevant law at Treasury’s request and concluded that IRS may pay tax refunds during a lapse.

The IRS will be recalling a significant portion of its workforce, currently furloughed as part of the government shutdown, to work. Additional details for the IRS filing season will be included in an updated FY2019 Lapsed Appropriations Contingency Plan to be released publicly in the coming days.

“IRS employees have been hard at work over the past year to implement the biggest tax law changes the nation has seen in more than 30 years,” said Rettig.

As in past years, the IRS will begin accepting and processing individual tax returns once the filing season begins. For taxpayers who usually file early in the year and have all of the needed documentation, there is no need to wait to file. They should file when they are ready to submit a complete and accurate tax return.

The filing deadline to submit 2018 tax returns is Monday, April 15, 2019 for most taxpayers. Because of the Patriots’ Day holiday on April 15 in Maine and Massachusetts and the Emancipation Day holiday on April 16 in the District of Columbia, taxpayers who live in Maine or Massachusetts have until April 17, 2019 to file their returns.

Software companies and tax professionals will be accepting and preparing tax returns before Jan. 28 and then will submit the returns when the IRS systems open later this month. The IRS strongly encourages people to file their tax returns electronically to minimize errors and for faster refunds.

IRS Announces Which ITINs Will Be Expiring at End of 2017 and That They Are Now Accepting Renewal Applications
The IRS recently announced that as of June 21, 2017 they will accept renewal applications for Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) that will expire at the end of this year (2017).

As a reminder the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act stated that all ITINs issued before 2013 would expire over a four year period beginning on January 1, 2017 and that any ITIN that was not used for three consecutive years would also expire.

Who Must Renew for the Upcoming Filing Season (Filing Season 2018)

At the end of 2017 the following ITINs will expire and must be renewed if an individual wants to use it on a 2017 federal return:
• ITINs with middle digits of 70, 71, 72 or 80.
The IRS will begin sending the CP-48 Notice (You must renew your ITIN to file your US tax return) to the affected taxpayers later this summer.

• ITINs that have not been used at least once in the last three consecutive years.

How to Renew an ITIN
To renew an expiring ITIN an individual must complete a Form W-7 (Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number), making sure to check the “Renew an Existing ITIN” checkbox, and submit it to the IRS in one of the following ways:
• Mail the completed Form W-7 - along with the original identification documents or certified copies by the agency that issued them – to the IRS address listed on the form.
• Use one of the many IRS authorized Certified Acceptance Agents or Acceptance Agents around the country
• In advance, call and make an appointment at an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center in lieu of mailing original identification documents to the IRS.

For renewals, the IRS does not require a tax return to be attached to the submitted Form W-7.

2016 Changes to EITC, Child Tax and Education Credits, and 2017 Filing Season Refund Delays for Returns with EITC
April 20, 2016

As the main part of the 2016 filing season comes to a close, it is time to emphasize the coming important changes to the preparer due diligence requirements, refundable credits, and refunds for the 2017 filing season.

The December 2015 extender bill did more than just extend the expiring tax provisions. In the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015, Congress included a “program integrity” section that dealt with the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Child Tax Credit (CTC), and American Opportunity Education Tax Credit (AOTC).

Below is a summary of what these changes are:

Refunds for Federal Returns that Claim EITC will not be Released Until February 15 Beginning with the 2017 Filing Season
The integrity provision of the PATH Act that will have the greatest impact on taxpayers that claim EITC is the one that requires the IRS to not release refunds for returns that claim EITC or the Additional Child Tax Credit until February 15 beginning with the 2017 filing season. Therefore, any return claiming the EITC or CTC credits that is prepared in the early part of the filing season will not be released for up to 4 weeks (depending on when the return is filed) instead of the standard 21 days or less timeframe.

Expansion of Preparer Due Diligence Requirements
The PATH Act expands the EITC due diligence requirements under Code Section 6695 (including the $500 penalty) to now include the Child Tax Credit and the American Opportunity Education Credit beginning with 2016 individual federal returns.

This means that the IRS will be making changes to Form 8867 (Paid Preparer’s Earned Income Tax Credit Checklist). The form will be renamed and additional due diligence related questions will be added for these two additional credits.

The IRS is in the process of modifying the due diligence regulations for the addition of the Child Tax Credit and the American Opportunity Education Credit. When the IRS releases these regulations, we will give you more details on what they contain and what changes will be made to the Tax Year 2016 Form 8867.

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Changes
The PATH Act made the following changes that will affect individuals who claim EITC on their returns beginning with Tax Year 2016 tax returns:

Individuals cannot file an amended return to claim EITC for prior years that a qualifying child did not have a Social Security Number. This provision went into effect on the date the PATH Act became law on December 18, 2015.
The IRS can bar an individual from claiming EITC for 10 years if the IRS finds they have fraudulently claimed the credit.
The EITC is now subject to the penalty for erroneous claim for refunds and credits.
Incorrectly claimed refundable credits will now be taken into account when determining the underpayment penalty.
Changes for Child Tax Credit and the American Opportunity Education Credit
The PATH Act made the following changes for returns that claim the child tax credit or the American Opportunity credit beginning with Tax Year 2016 tax returns:

If the IRS determines that an individual has intentionally disregarded the rules for claiming the Child Tax Credit and/or the American Opportunity Education Credit they can bar them for two years from claiming either or both of these credits.
Individuals cannot file an amended return to claim the Child Tax Credit or the American Opportunity Education Credit for prior years that a qualifying child did not have an ITIN or SSN.
The EIN of the educational institution will be required to be reported on Form 8863. If it is missing the IRS will reject the return.
For more information on these changes see the Joint Committee on Taxation’s Technical Explanation of the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 – the program integrity provisions begin on page 118.

IRS Statement on "Where's My Refund?" Tool

Feb. 14, 2013

The IRS alerted taxpayers and the tax community it is experiencing high traffic on “Where's My Refund?” as more tax returns come in. The heavy volume of refund inquiries means that the IRS anticipates both "Where's My Refund?" on IRS.gov and the refund feature on the IRS2go phone app will have limited availability during busier periods.

Due to the large number of inquiries and to avoid service disruptions, the IRS strongly urges taxpayers to only check on their refunds once a day. IRS systems are only updated once a day, usually overnight, and the same information is available whether on the Internet, IRS2go smartphone app or on IRS toll-free lines. While "Where's My Refund?" is updated nightly, your account will not change that frequently.

The IRS is seeing a good start to the filing season, and tax refunds are being issued timely. Nine out of 10 taxpayers typically receive refunds in less than 21 days when they use e-file with direct deposit.

The IRS expects to see the number of tax returns — and related refund inquiries — steadily increase around the President's Day holiday week.

Here are some tips to help taxpayers with their refund questions:
•Have the right tax information ready before using any of the IRS refund tools. This includes Social Security number, filing status and refund amount.
•You don't need to check “Where's My Refund?” more than once a day as your information will not change.
•To avoid system delays, the best time to check on refunds is evening and weekends.
•There is no need to call the IRS about your refund; the telephone service has the same information that is available on “Where’s My Refund?”.

When Will I Get My Refund? You can generally expect the IRS to issue your refund in less than 21 calendar days after we receive your tax return.

Reminder:
Some 2013 tax forms cannot be filed until mid-February or early March because they require more extensive programming.

Posted By: IRS.GOV