The other day I listened to a tax preparation expert in Fort Myers speak about some of the changes to tax laws and procedures that individuals and business filers should expect this season.
Although there were a handful of interesting write-off perks for equipment purchasing and extension of many other tax write-offs thanks to th Paul Ryan led Congress, there was one HUGE change that we were alerted to that compelled me to share with Active Rainers.
Tax Refund Fraud Triggers Big Changes at IRS
You may have heard in recent years about news stories involving identity thieves filing stealing tax refunds from innocent people. In Tampa, Florida there was a high incidence of this and you can read more about that on your own.
But now there are repercussion for all of us as the IRS and individual states take steps to crack down on the risk of this happening. Beginning this tax season, the IRA has increased their security procedures due to the refund fraud cases. The tax expert who spoke to our group warned us that it will now take 2-3 weeks instead of the normal 7-10 days to receive our tax refunds.
In certain states there are increased security procedures too so state tax refunds may be delayed (not a problem for us Floridians as we have no state income tax - picture me sticking my tongue out at you!).
Tax E-filing Changes
When you e-file your tax return you should expect to go through a series of authentication questions to verify your identity.
There are certain triggers that IRS is monitoring to that will cause your tax return to get flagged for additional security procedures. These include:
-change of address
-changing marital status (ex. if you're filing joint for first time)
Some refunds will be issued only via check this year and debit card will not be an option. I guess that's mostly impacting people without bank accounts because if you have a checking or savings acccount, the IRS can just ACH the refund electronically to you which speeds up access to your money.
The ability to e-file your tax return began on January 19, 2016 so if you're due money back, don't delay - get on the e-file train today!
Happy tax season.
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