Hello January 31st, Its Tax Processing Time!

Jan 28, 2014

thI am very debt averse! Any additional funds I have are normally applied to my outstanding debt. Well, I am currently in need of a new vehicle and that is putting it mildly. I have no heat, no brakes and a gas and oil leak! So in 2013, I decided the most effective way to save for my down payment on a new vehicle, would be to over withhold on my paycheck. This way, I couldn’t reallocate these funds to any other outstanding debt and also create a sizeable down payment. Well, it’s freezing, snow is everywhere and I still have no heat! I could really use my refund now!

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that they will start processing tax returns on January 31, 2014. This is a change from the original date of January 21, 2014. You may recall a few months ago the government shut down. The IRS stated that this closure came during their “peak period” for preparing their systems for the 2014 filing season. The IRS has to program their systems for all the changes in the tax law from year to year. And because of this 16-day federal government shutdown, the IRS had to postpone the start of tax season to ensure that all systems can process the 2013 tax returns efficiently and more importantly accurately. (If you are interested my colleague wrote a very interesting blog on what the law changes were for the 2013 tax year under the American Taxpayer Relief Act.)

The IRS website indicates that it normally can take up to 21 days to process and issue a refund. It has been my experience that it only takes 10 to 14 days if you are utilizing the e-filing with direct deposit option. I always suggest these two options as it allows the processing of your return to be much more efficient.

As a final note, unfortunately, the IRS did not postpone the ending of tax season. This means that you will still need to file before April 15th, unless you seek an extension by filing Form 4868. The extension provides you until October 15th to file. As a reminder, an extension does not provide you any additional  time to pay. If you owe on your 2013 taxes, this payment still needs to be made by April 15, 2014.

You can bet my return is completed and ready for processing come January 31st!

By: Bob Bradshaw, CPA

Categories: Uncategorized