The 2017 tax season is officially here, and it is accompanied by changes that will affect the majority of taxpayers in some form or fashion.  An overview of changes, due dates and helpful tips to start you off on the right foot is provided below.

Individual Income Tax Returns (Form 1040)

Date Season Opens:  January 23, 2017

Due Date of Returns/Tax:  April 18, 2017

Reason(s) for Tax Refund Delay:  Beginning in 2017, new legislation requires the IRS to delay issuing tax refunds to taxpayers claiming the “Earned Income Tax Credit” and the “Additional Child Tax Credit”.  This legislation was enacted to provide the IRS additional time to screen these returns for the purpose of reducing identity theft and tax fraud.  As such, these refunds will not be processed for return to taxpayers until February 15, 2017 (which means taxpayers will probably not receive there refund until sometime in late February 2017).

IRS Anticipated Processing Time for e-filed Returns:  21 days

IRS Anticipated Processing Time for paper filed Returns:  6 – 8 weeks

Link to Check Status of IRS Refund (Where’s My Refund?):  https://www.irs.gov/refunds

Business Tax Returns (Forms 1065, 1120S & 1120)

Important Change:  The IRS has changed the due date of partnership returns (1065) and C corporation tax returns (1120) to March 15, 2017 and April 18, 2017, respectively (in essence, the returns have swapped due dates with one another).  In addition, the Revenue Service has modified the extended due dates of several business returns, and I have included a complete list of the due dates below.