‘Tis the season – to file taxes.
January 28 is the official start to tax filing season when the IRS will begin processing tax returns for 2018. The IRS also announced that it will pay tax refunds as scheduled even in light of the partial shutdown of the federal government.
According the IRS, the agency is operating under its interpretation of a Congressional directive that all tax refunds are paid through a permanent, indefinite appropriation, and therefore, all refunds will be paid as usual.
“The IRS has consistently been of the view that it has authority to pay refunds despite a lapse in annual appropriations,” the IRS stated in the release.
In addition, the IRS will bring back more than 46,000 employees to work during the shutdown. Under an updated contingency plan, the IRS will recall 57 percent of its workforce to handle tax season duties.
The IRS will begin accepting and processing individual tax returns on Jan. 28. 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 Massachusetts and Maine and the Emancipation Day holiday on April 16 in the District of Columbia, taxpayers who live in Massachusetts and Maine have until April 17, 2019, to file their returns.