2024 Tax Season news summary | Thursday, 11 April, 2024
US Tax Season 2024: Live Updates
- Filers have until Monday, 15 April to submit their federal (and in most cases, state) tax return
- Advice from tax professionals on how to avoid common mistakes
- Higher refunds are being paidthis year compared to last
- IRS offers Direct File to residents of twelve states to allow filers a free option
Helpful links
- Requesting an extension on your refund
- Tax Guide: Claiming dependents on your tax return
- How to track your federal tax return
There are only a few days left in the 2024 tax season. The Internal Revenue Service has been receiving and processing the declarations corresponding to the 2023 tax year and taxpayers are running out of time to comply with their obligations.
All filers must meet the deadline if they want to avoid paying fines.
Feeling anxious about your tax refund?
If you filed a federal income tax return and are expecting a refund from the IRS, you may want to find out the status of the refund or at least get an idea of when you might receive it.
You can start checking on the status of your refund within 24 hours after the IRS has received your electronically filed return, or four weeks after you mailed a paper return.
You can check the "Where's My Refund" tool on the IRS website.
Tax season is coming to an end: filers must submit their returns by April 15, 2024.
Here are the fines and penalties for not paying or filing on time.
Avoiding common errors
The IRS is warning taxpayers against succumbing to common errors when they file their returns.
The agency has put together a fact sheet on the age-old mistakes that tax filers should be wary of.
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There are only a few days left before the deadline to file your tax return. If you think you won’t make the date, you can request an extension from the IRS.
Whether a senior citizen on Social Security needs to file taxes depends on their total income, not just their Social Security benefits.
Attention first-time filers!
If it’s your first-time ever to file a tax return, you may be overwhelmed and have put off going through the process.
There are only four more days before the big deadline, but the IRS has a step-by-step guide for filing that can help you avoid fines. The information on the website can help you gather the documents you need, determine whatever credits or exemptions you might be entitled to, and learn how to file your return.
Looking to establish a payment plan with the IRS?
“If you are a qualified taxpayer or authorized representative (Power of Attorney) you can apply for a payment plan (including installment agreement) online to pay off your balance over time,” reports the US tax authority.
To do so, you can visit this webpage, which takes you to the payment portal, and will prompt those using to establish a payment plan with the tools necessary to do so.
There are two types of plans: short-term and long-term payment plans. The short-term plans can be paid off in 180 days or less and are eligible to those that "owe less than $100,000 in combined tax, penalties and interest," while those established for the long-term determine a monthly payment that will be paid in installments until the debt is paid off completely. In order to set up a long-term payment plan, one must owe the IRS "$50,000 or less in combined tax, penalties and interest." Read more on payment plans on the IRS' website.
Monday, April 15, is Tax Day in the United States, and the deadline for filing is quickly approaching. For those hurrying to submit their 2023 returns, we spoke with tax specialists about how to avoid simple mistakes and ensure you maximize your refund. Read more.
Congress could make filing taxes much easier
The tax filing process in the US is much more complicated than it needs to be. The IRS has all of the information it needs to file a return on your behalf, but it makes filers jump through hoops and pay for expensive software or professional help. The outlet, More Perfect Union, called attention to this issue on X, writing that for millions of filers who were able to use the Direct File program, noting that the IRS will "pre-populate the returns of people who use the free, direct file pilot with info the agency has on your income and employment."
Another great reason for those in the twelve states where Direct File is being piloted to test it out. For more information on Direct File, check out our full coverage.
Be careful to not incur any penalties
The US Taxpayer Advocate Service has posted a reminder for those requesting an extension to the tax filing deadline. Requesting an extension is free, but those who receive it should know that it does not apply to any taxes that would be owed on 15 April, only the return. The extension pushes the deadline back to 15 October.
There is still time to claim stimulus checks
The IRS gives taxpayers three years to submit or amend a tax return. That means this is the last year to claim the Economic Impact Payments, more commonly known as stimulus checks sent in March 2020.
The tax credit to claim the checks if they were not sent to you or deposited directly into your bank account was the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit, and a 2020 return with that credit claimed must be submitted by 17 May 2024. If you are eligible, $1,200 will be tacked onto your refund for that year and will not impact the refund you receive this year for filing your 2023 tax return. For more information... read on in our full coverage.
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Tax filers in the United States have a little over two weeks to submit their 2023 tax return to avoid penalties.
The returns are due on Monday, 15 April, but extensions are available for those who need them. However, before requesting an extension, you should be aware that it only applies to the filing deadline, not the payment of any taxes owed to the IRS.
On 29 March, the tax authority reported that the average refund distributed on 22 March was $3,081 —a 6.14 percent increase over those sent on a similar day in 2023. Those receiving their refund through direct deposit are $3,152, just over five percent higher than those sent towards the end of March a year ago.
The Child Tax Credit (CTC) is a financial benefit provided by the US government to support families with the expenses of raising children. As a part of the American Rescue Plan during the covid-19 pandemic, the credit has been made refundable, and its value has been increased from $2,000 per child to $3,600 for children below 6 years of age and $3,000 for those between 6 and 17 years old.
If you haven't claimed this expanded credit yet, you can still do so. The IRS allows filers to file their old taxes up to three years after the end of the filing season. So, filers will have time until next year to file their old Child Tax Credit information.
It also implies that 2020 tax returns have their last opportunity to be filed this year after the original tax deadline of 17 May 2021. Read more.
The IRS rolled out a new tool for this tax season, Direct File, allowing taxpayers to electronically file their tax return directly with the IRS for free.
When are taxes due in each state?
Most states align their filing deadline with that imposed at the federal level: Monday, 15 April. However, there are a few exceptions:
- Delaware: Tuesday, April 30, 2024
- Hawaii: Monday, 22 April, 2024
- Iowa: Tuesday, April 30, 2024
- Kentucky: Thursday, 18 April 2024
- Louisiana: May 15, 2024
- Maine: Wednesday, 17 Abril 2024
- Massachusetts: Wednesday, 17 Abril 2024
- Missouri: Thursday, 18 April 2024
- New Mexico: Tuesday, April 30, 2024
- Virginia: Wednesday, 1 May, 2024
- West Virginia: Tuesday, April 30, 2024.
IRS offers extension to some filers in Connecticut
After a dam was damaged in Connecticut, leading to severe flooding, the IRS has offered some filers an extension to give them more time to get their documents in order. Additionally, as is the case in Connecticut and the various other geographies where an automatic extension has been offered, filers may need to request documents from the tax authority destroyed in the storm.
Also, for those who think they are eligible for an automatic extension because of a natural disaster, see the full list here.
What is refund offset? How can it be avoided?
The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) has published a new blog on refund offsetting and how filers can avoid it if you are experiencing economic hardship. But, what is offset? Offsetting is a practice that IRS engages with when the amount of tax owed by a filer, exceeds what they would get back, meaning that some (or in some cases all) of the refund amount is reduced.
However, the TAS, says that those experiencing financial troubles can avoid having their refund offset by demonstrating that "they are experiencing an economic hardship, which is why the IRS refers to the refund as an offset bypass refund (OBR)." Read the blog for more information on how to make this declaration, and be sure to do so before submitting your tax return, since once a refund is offset, the funds cannot be sent to the taxpayer.
Have gamblings winnings to report to the IRS?
The IRS' Interactive Tax Assistant can help those who have gambling winnings to report to the tax authority on their return this year. This can be used by those who have received a Form W-2G and those who have not.
Gambling prizes over $600, including lottery winnings, are generally eligible for taxation by the IRS. Keep that in mind as you file your returns.
Last push for Direct File made by the IRS
As the 2024 tax season comes to an end, the IRS is reminding tax payers that in twelve states, they have the option to use the IRS' pilot filing software Direct File that will be rolled out nationally next year.
The software is available in the states where no state taxes are levied on income: Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, or Wyoming. If you lived in one of these states for all of 2023, you can use the software. Additionally, residents of Arizona, California, Massachusetts, New York, and Washington can also take advantage of the pilot program this year.
Hello and welcome to AS USA's live blog on the 2024 tax season. The filing deadline is Monday, 15 April, meaning there is just under a week left to submit one's 2023 tax return.
There are options for those who don't think it is feasible to meet the deadline. The extensions are free to request, but they do not alter the deadline for any owed taxes, and missing payments can incur penalties and fees.
For those looking for free filing options, some filers have various options this year. Residents of twelve states can use the Direct File program, which is a free filing software that the federal government is piloting this year. Outside of those states, filers with an annual income under $79,000 can use the IRS Free File programs that partners of the IRS have developed to meet different filing needs.