IRS Announces Tax Filing Season to Begin Jan. 24
The IRS recently announced that it will begin accepting and processing 2021 tax year returns on Monday, Jan. 24, 2022.
The IRS stated that the Jan. 24 date allows the agency time to perform programming and testing critical to ensuring IRS systems run smoothly and urged tax professionals to file electronically to avoid delays in processing.
Those who received advance Child Tax Credit payments or Economic Impact Payments in 2021 will need the amounts of these payments when preparing their tax return. Like last year, there will be individuals filing tax returns who, even though they are not required to file, need to file a 2021 return to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit to receive the tax credit from the 2021 stimulus payments or reconcile advance payments of the Child Tax Credit. People who don’t normally file also could receive other credits.
The IRS started sending Letter 6419, 2021 advance Child Tax Credit, in late December and continues to do so into January. The letter contains important information that can help ensure the return is accurate. People who received the advance Child Tax Credit payments can also check the amount of the payments they received by using the CTC Update Portal available on IRS.gov.
Eligible taxpayers who received advanced Child Tax Credit payments should file a 2021 tax return to receive the second half of the credit. Eligible taxpayers who did not receive advanced Child Tax Credit payments can claim the full credit by filing a tax return.
The IRS will begin issuing Letter 6475, Your Third Economic Impact Payment, to individuals who received a third payment in 2021 in late January. While most eligible people already received their stimulus payments, this letter will help individuals determine if they are eligible to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit for missing stimulus payments. If so, they must file a 2021 tax return to claim their remaining stimulus amount. People can also use their IRS online account to view their Economic Impact Payment amounts.
The IRS continues to reduce the inventory of prior-year individual tax returns that have not been fully processed. As of Dec. 3, 2021, the IRS has processed nearly 169 million tax returns. All paper and electronic individual 2020 refund returns received prior to April 2021 have been processed if the return had no errors or did not require further review.