Tax season is, behind perhaps only exam season for students or the period in between the start of cold weather and the holidays for everybody else, one of the most dreaded times of the year.
Every 12 months, similar surveys show that more than half of Americans are dreading the filing deadline due to everything from the opacity of the process and fears of accidentally getting something wrong to, for freelancers and those with a sudden change in income, worries about discovering that one owes more than set aside during the year.
That's why when, in 2020, many felt like a holiday had come early when the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) delayed the filing deadline from April to July due to the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here's Who Should Wait To File That Tax Return
The backlog created by the pandemic and the extension dragged on for more than a year and no such extension was announced in either 2021 or 2022.
But the last year still saw many changes and updates to the filing process overall -- many of the pandemic-related deductions put in place two years ago have now come to an end while the standard deduction rose by $400 for single filers and $800 for households. Tax brackets were also adjusted slightly to account for.
Even without taking in account the different deductions introduced by individual states, all of these changes have sown significant confusion about how people should be filing their taxes this year. As first reported by the Wall Street Journal, the IRS released a statement acknowledging the uncertainty around different state refunds and deductions.
"The IRS is aware of questions involving special tax refunds or payments made by states in 2022; we are working with state tax officials as quickly as possible to provide additional information and clarity for taxpayers," the agency said, adding that it hopes to provide "additional clarity" by next week. "There are a variety of state programs that distributed these payments in 2022 and the rules surrounding them are complex."
Getty Images
'Don't Call Us, We'll Call You,' Says IRS
While this announcement in no way alters the April 18 deadline for filing, the IRS basically told both taxpayers and accountants with questions not to wear out the lines trying to get answers before the agency provides official guidance.
For those who already filed their returns, the IRS also recommends not amending it until any official guidance is released.
"For taxpayers uncertain about the taxability of their state payments, the IRS recommends they wait until additional guidance is available or consult with a reputable tax professional," the IRS said. "[...] The best course of action is to wait for additional clarification on state payments rather than calling the IRS," the agency said in a Friday statement.
The general advice to wait for official or professional guidance seems wise given the proliferation of different tax-related scams that pop up every spring -- this year, cybersecurity experts have reported a rise in "vishing."
Short for voice phishers, "vishers" call unsuspecting people from dozens of fake numbers. Impersonating the IRS, they will generally say that there's some "urgent legal action" involving one's tax account and try to capitalize on the person's panic to get them to make a fraudulent payment.
"Even though most tax return preparers provide honest, quality service, some may cause harm through fraud, identity theft and other scams," the IRS said in a Jan. 24 warning.
