IRS Kicks Off Tax Filing Season

The IRS recently announced shipping out almost 18 million tax packages and anticipates receiving about 135 million returns--they hope that an increased number of these will be e-filed. In addition to the AMT Assistant mentioned earlier this month in a post, new features for this tax season include access to free tax preparation software for taxpayers with earnings below about $50,000; a section (EITC 1040) where taxpayers can see new tax law developments and frequently asked questions and information about IRS Hurricane Aid (Katrina, Rita and Wilma). Two dates to keep in mind for calendar-year taxpayers: January 16 for estimated tax payers is the final due date for estimated payments and April 17 is the due date for the return (also remember that this year, there is an automatic extension to mid-October).