While the new year started for most folks on January 1, the new tax year begins for IRS on today, January 3.
Just this week, the IRS will send 17.7 million 1040 tax packages to taxpayers who have previously filed paper returns. This number is on the decline as more taxpayers opt for electronic filing. The IRS expects 135 million individuals to file their tax returns electronically.
While we traditionally think of April 15 as the filing deadline for taxes, that won’t be the case this year: April 15 falls on a weekend, making April 17 the deadline. And even better for many taxpayers who live in Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, and the District of Columbia, who will have a filing deadline of April 18 because of a state holiday in Massachusetts where the IRS has a processing facility.
Also new this year, a newly designed website. Just last year, there were more than 176 million visits to the web site.
