KANSAS CITY, MO — Starting today you can file your taxes.
The IRS is now accepting individual income tax returns until the deadline which has been extended to April 18. However, like many, the pandemic has caused some staffing shortages, and back up from as far as 2020.
KSHB 41 News spoke with Michael Devine, spokesperson for the IRS, and Marquita Miller Joshua, owner and principal for the Five Star Tax and Business Services, to learn more about what these delays mean for taxpayers.
First things first: do not panic, there is still plenty of time to file your taxes. However, Devine said the agency has a few requests for filers this year.
“When you get ready to file do it electronically and use direct deposit, and if you don’t have to send paper to the IRS, that’s going to improve your chances for your return being process quickly and getting a refund within 21 days,” Devine said.
Devine says this delay comes from the staffing shortages the IRS is facing, causing two years worth of backups.
“People that work at our processing centers and actually handle our corresponding returns, they have to go in and they’re under COVID protocols. So, there are fewer of them going in at one time which delays the paper procession returns,” Devine said. “We are still working on returns in 2020 and for people that have been held in that backlog.”
Now as tax season begins, Devine wants to remind people they have until the end of the months to receive proper filing forms from their employers. Urging taxpayers to wait because inaccurate filings will cause more delays.
“What you need to do is wait until you have all the documents that you need. Making a mistake on your tax return, whether it’s an addition error or not putting in the right amount for income that you earned, is going to make your return bounce out of the electronic process until a person can look at it. That’s going to cause delays,” Devine said.
Nonetheless, Marquita Miller Joshua, a local CPA in Kansas City, spells out some scenarios you might relate to that will help you file more accurately.
- If you recently got married or recently changed your name, Miller Joshua says:
“Do some key things on the front end. Making sure your name is correct and when I say your name you’re probably thinking that’s a no-brainer, but if you got married in 2021, and you were married at the end of the year, and you changed your ID, whatever is listed at the Social Security Administration needs to be listed on your tax return,” Miller Joshua said.
- If you worked at one or more places during 2021, make sure your current employer has the correct address on file while you wait on W2s.
- If you received child tax credit Miller Joshua says:
“There are taxpayers that are already receiving letters from the IRS regarding the advanced child tax credit and the economic stimulus payment. There was a third payment that came out in 2021, you want to keep those letters because those letters are what the tax professional are going to see so they can make sure they list it properly on your tax return,” Miller Joshua said.
- If you were medically impacted by the pandemic, Miller Joshua says:
“There were a lot of taxpayers that got impacted with COVID medically, and some times those medical expenses, if they didn’t have insurance, could’ve been really a large amount. Where they would been able to itemize in previous years ... it pays to double check,” Miller Joshua said.
- If you received a bonus or raise Marquita says:
“If your income was at one level, and you got a nice raise and bonus, it could impact what you quality for. The reconciliation is going to be key,” Miller Joshua said.
- If you’re a business owner and received a grant or loan Marquita says:
"Grants are not taxable income. Now on loans, there were businesses that were able to take advantage of loans to help keep their business going — those loans are not taxable either. If you got taxable funding, make sure you disclose that to your tax professional so they can help you determine if its taxable or reportable at all,” Miller Joshua said.
The IRS has more information available on its website.
