Tax Filing Season Could Be Delayed By a Few Weeks

The 2014 tax filing season will delayed slightly due to the recent government shutdown, the Internal Revenue Service’s commissioner said.

Next year’s filing season will begin approximately one to two weeks later than usual to allow time to program and test tax processing systems following the 16-day closure of the federal government.

The IRS will announce a final decision on the start of the 2014 filing season in December.

“Readying our systems to handle the tax season is an intricate, detailed process and we must take the time to do it right,” Acting IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said. “The adjustment to the start of the filing season provides us the necessary time to program, test and validate our systems so that we can provide a smooth filing and refund process for the nation’s taxpayers.”

The original start date for the filing season was Jan. 21. Werfel said the agency is likely looking at new kickoff for the season between Jan. 28 and Feb. 4.

The government shutdown occurred during a peak period for programming IRS systems for the upcoming filing season.

An estimated 90 percent of IRS operations were closed during the shutdown with some offices closed entirely during the 16-day period.

The April 15 tax deadline is set by statute and, therefore, will remain in place. But taxpayers can request a six-month extension to file their return.