The IRS is usually the first to announce the start dates of the tax season, which is the optimal time to file all necessary taxes to be up-to-date with the institution and avoid future inconveniences.
It is not always possible to find the right date to file taxes for the current year due to the enormous level of misinformation all over the internet. Some sites talk about one date, and others about totally different dates.
When can I start filing taxes?
To answer this question accurately, you can file your taxes at any time of the current year because the site and the offices are almost always working to receive all the returns.
But, it does not mean that filing your returns at any time is the right thing to do. Because if you do it outside the dates established for the tax season (when most people start filing), the consequences are not pleasant.
Tax season started this year, 2022, on January 24. The dates were considered appropriate because, from the beginning, it was expected to begin between January 15 and February 1.
Therefore, January 24, the start of the tax season, where everyone can file their previous year to keep up to date, was optimal and safe.
The season lasted until April 15, 2022; taxpayers had almost three months to catch up with all their returns. Individuals who did not file their taxes in those months are considered delinquent.
Although the filing season for filing the return delay ended on April 15, accepted returns until April 18 due to Emancipation Day.
For those who missed the deadline but filed before or during April 18 of the same month, their returns are not considered late and are not subject to fines or penalties.
When do refunds begin in 2022?
Regarding the issue of refunds, there is quite a big dilemma, not because the IRS does not want to give them, but because the IRS cannot process a good part of them due to lack of time and, perhaps, personnel.
Therefore, we must look at two situations to answer when you will receive your refund. One being by electronic means and the other as a manual refund.
Reimbursement by electronic means
Reimbursements and statements made electronically are much easier to handle since it is an almost automated system capable of processing information without requiring much human intervention.
When the refund is requested electronically, it usually takes no more than 25 days to be processed and credited. That is, providing there is no problem with the information provided.
If, under normal conditions, there is erroneous data, missing documents, or incomplete information, it is quite likely that there will be a delay of several months, even electronically. After some time, you can call the IRS and ask for your refund.
Manual Refund
If you filed your refund manually this 2022, you probably suffer from long delays even if you sent it in at the right time for tax season.
The IRS is going through a very unpleasant situation where, because of the COVID-19 shutdown, most of the returns sent on paper format accumulated to date.
Therefore, the IRS still struggles to process all the returns and refunds. And it is not until the refunds are processed that they can be credited.
This backlog problem can cause delays of up to 3 to 6 months for those who submit their documents physically. Those who submit their documents this way should be prepared for this delay.