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-Editorial
As tax season is on its way, there are resources available for people to take advantage of so that filing taxes is not complicated for them.
The Internal Revenue Service recently announced that people electronically filing their Form 1040-X, Amended U.S Individual Income Tax Return, will for the first time be able to select direct deposit for any resulting refund.
Previously, taxpayers who filed Form 1040-X with the IRS had to wait for a paper check for any refund, a step that added time to the amended return process. Now, anyone who electronically files Form 1040-X can select direct deposit and enter their banking or financial institution information for quicker delivery of refunds. Taxpayers file a total of approximately 3 million amended returns each year.
That’s one of the many services provided this year that people can rely on.
Kevin Moorehead, Deputy Commissioner of the Wage and Investment Division spoke at a press briefing by Ethnic Media Service and California Black Media about what can people do to submit their taxes and pay on time.
“The IRS in general is one of the world’s most efficient tax administrators. The IRS collects about $4.1 trillion a year which is about 96% of the U.S. gross revenue,” said Moorehead.
“During the final fiscal year 2021, the IRS collected more than $4.1 trillion gross taxes, processed more than 260 million tax returns and other forms, and issued more than $1.1 trillion in tax refunds, including $585 billion in economic impact payments and advance child tax payments.
He added, “We know people rely on us for the information and help that may need to meet their tax obligation. Our focus is to continue to help taxpayers, the tax industry, and our employees.
“While much work remains after several difficult years, we anticipate a significantly better tax season for everyone this year.
People are advised to gather tax documents. Take time to review your information, and make sure you have all the documents that you may need for filing your return. Choose direct deposit. Filing an accurate tax return electronically will avoid delays and direct deposits speed up refunds. There are a few options available to most tax taxpayers for free filing.
For 2022, please file the tax return. Even if you don’t have to file due to income guidelines, you should file because you could get more money in your pocket. While people with income under a certain amount are not generally required to file a tax return, those who qualify for certain tax credits or already paid some federal tax by having taxes withheld from their paycheck may qualify for a tax refund.
Susan Simon, Director of Customer Assistance, Relationships, and Education also stressed the importance of having everything ready.
“It is so important that you have the information that you need to prepare an accurate tax return that will be processed quickly so that you get your refund in time to do things you want to do as a family, or as an individual,” said Simon. “We have over-the-phone interpreter services where we traditionally provided a free interpreter service if you called some of our phone lines. We now have expanded that to all toll-free phone lines, you can call to get assistance in one of 350 languages.”
If you are claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit, there is a law that requires that we do not release those tax returns with those credits until mid-February, Simon pointed out.
“This helps us prevent fraud. It helps us ensure that we are sending the money to the right taxpayer, that the return we received is from that taxpayer, and that we are sending it to the right bank account or the right address,” she concluded.
Refunds are slightly smaller. Taxpayers will not receive an additional stimulus payment with their return because there were no economic impact payments for 2022. Taxpayers who don’t itemize and take the standard deduction won’t be able to deduct their charitable contributions like they were able to in 2021 returns. Some credit amounts will also be slightly smaller.
