Take Steps Now for Tax Filing Season

Refunds

What You Need to Know

• Expecting a refund? Some refunds cannot be issued before mid-February.

• • By law, the IRS cannot issue refunds before mid-February for tax returns that claim the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit.
  • This applies to the entire refund, even the portion not associated with these credits.
• While the IRS will process your return when it is received, it cannot issue related refunds before mid-February.

• The IRS expects the earliest EITC/ACTC related refunds to be available in taxpayer bank accounts or on debit cards starting on Feb 27, 2018, if they chose direct deposit and there are no other issues with the tax return.

What You Need to Do

• Be careful not to count on getting a refund by a certain date, especially when making major purchases or paying other financial obligations.
• File a complete and accurate return and include all known refundable credits with your original return.

• File when you’re ready. If you usually file early in the year and you’re ready to file a complete and accurate return, there is no need to wait to file.
• Check Where’s My Refund on IRS.gov or the IRS mobile app, IRS2Go, for your personalized refund status.

Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)

What You Need to Know

• If you prepare and file your own taxes electronically, you must sign and validate your electronic tax return by entering your prior-year AGI or your prior-year Self-Select PIN.

• Some taxpayers using a software product for the first time may need to provide their 2016 Adjusted Gross Income, or AGI, to e-file their 2017 tax return.

• If you are using the same tax software you used last year, you will not need to enter your prior year information to electronically sign your 2017 tax return.

• Using an electronic filing PIN is no longer an option.

• Learn more about how to verify your identity and electronically sign your tax return at Validating Your Electronically Filed Tax Return.

What You Need to Do

• If you are using a software product for the first time and you have a copy of your 2016 federal income tax return, your AGI is on line 37 of the Form 1040; line 21 on the Form 1040-A or line 4 on the Form 1040-EZ.

• If you don’t have a copy of your 2016 tax return:
• • Ask your paid preparer, if you used one last year.
  • Log in to IRS.gov/account to access your account information.
  • Log in to IRS.gov to get various Form 1040-series transcript types online here. If you need your prior year Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) to e-file, choose the tax return transcript type when making your request.
  • Ask the IRS to mail a Tax Return Transcript to you by requesting it here or call 800-908-9946. Allow 5 to 10 days for delivery.

Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)

What You Need to Know

• If you require an ITIN (required in lieu of a Social Security Number) to file a tax return, you are likely to experience processing delays if you file using an expired ITIN.
• There are two reasons your ITIN would expire December 31, 2017:
  • If you have not used your ITIN on a U.S. tax return at least once for tax years 2014, 2015 or 2016 or
  • If your ITIN has the middle digits 70, 71, 72 or 80   (9NN-70-NNNN)

• If your ITIN has middle digits 78 or 79, it expired December 31, 2016, but you can still renew it.

What You Need to Do

• Renew your ITIN now if it has or will expire and you need to file a U.S. tax return in 2018.
• You don’t need to take any action to renew your ITIN if you are not required to file a tax return.

• Understand the new documentation requirements when applying for or renewing an ITIN for some of your dependents. See ITIN FAQs for details.
• Ensure you submit an accurate W-7 and valid ID documents.
• Find more information at IRS.gov/ITIN.