WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Millions of Americans wait until the last minute to file their taxes and this year is no exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Monday is\u00a0Tax Day\u00a0\u2014 the federal deadline for individual tax filing and payments \u2014 and the IRS will receive tens of millions of last-minute filings electronically and through paper forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As of April 8, the IRS had received more than 103 million returns for\u00a0this tax season, and it had\u00a0issued\u00a0more than 63 million refunds worth more than $204 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For comparison, last year more than\u00a0169 million people\u00a0completed an income tax return by the end of the year. That probably leaves nearly 40 percent of this year\u2019s taxpayers still unaccounted for, with many scrambling to submit their documents by Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nina Tross at the National Society of Tax Professionals says if people haven\u2019t filed their taxes by now, \u201cthey\u2019re better off filing an extension.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, she added, \u201cPeople don\u2019t realize that filing an extension has zero effect\u201d as long as they have paid their income taxes by Tax Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAn extension is merely filing a return at a later date,\u201d Tross said. \u201cIf you rush through a return to get it out the door, and you have to amend it later, you\u2019re more likely to get a double look from the IRS.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re much better off extending than amending,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The IRS this year is facing its biggest backlog in history. At the end of the 2021 filing season, the agency had\u00a035.3 million returns\u00a0waiting for processing. One reason is that every paper document that goes into the IRS is\u00a0processed\u00a0by a human, according to the IRS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And some forms are reviewed by IRS employees and treated as if submitted on paper\u00a0even if they are e-filed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year will be one of the most challenging for the agency, with its record low staffing numbers. The IRS workforce is the same size it was in 1970, though the U.S. population has grown exponentially and tax laws have become increasingly complicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The agency announced plans\u00a0in March\u00a0to hire at least 10,000 more workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lisa Greene-Lewis, a CPA and spokesperson at TurboTax, said that if people still intend to file a return by Tax Day, \u201cI would gather all your documents in one place so you don\u2019t leave anything out, like W2s and 1099s.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Important papers such as the \u201c\u00a0Letter 6419\u00a0\u201d that outlines the Child Tax Credit payments a taxpayer should have received this year and the \u201c\u00a0Letter 6475\u00a0\u201d for stimulus payments should also be on hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Greene-Lewis, who has been doing taxes for over 20 years, said \u201cyou want to report the correct amount you received so you don\u2019t have to have to make adjustments to your refund.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The IRS has put out some information and\u00a0helpful links\u00a0for last-minute filers \u2014 stressing that \u201ctaxpayers should be careful to file a complete and accurate tax return. If a return includes errors or is incomplete, it may require further review.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keith Kahn with the Delaware Society of CPAs said he encourages everyone to file an electronic return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked whether CPAs will accept clients on Tax Day, Kahn said it\u2019s common for people to be turned away. But for those who can get an appointment, \u201cmake sure you have everything you could possibly provide to your CPA \u2014 there\u2019s not a lot of time to hammer out strategy or to ask questions.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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