Tax season will begin on January 27, the Internal Revenue Service said this week. That is the day the IRS will begin accepting and processing returns.
The deadline for returns and tax payments this year is April 15. However, returns may be prepared before the start date, but processing will not begin until the announced opening date.
The IRS notes sources of help in preparing and filing taxes include IRS Free File online or free tax help from trained volunteers at community sites around the country. Tax help is also available on IRS.gov, the official agency website. The Let Us Help You page helps answer most tax questions, and the IRS Services Guide (PDF) links to these and other IRS services.
Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards. Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that. A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind