Tax return deadline looms

It’s a month into tax season and soon, most taxpayers will run out of excuses to not file their returns.  

The Internal Revenue Service announced in early January that it would begin accepting tax returns from people claiming education credits in mid-February, while taxpayers claiming depreciation deductions, energy credits and many business credits would have to wait until late February or early March to file. The delay was due to the need for more extensive form and processing systems changes, according to the IRS.

The IRS is expected to accept the remaining forms the first week of March.

Noemi Flores, owner of Noemi Flores Tax and Notary at 61 W. Putnam Ave., said in her 35 years in business, she has never had to wait until March to file certain forms.

“The IRS has delayed many of the forms, and some people will not be able to come in until the first of March. Never had we had to wait until March,” she said.

The IRS sends Flores’s office constant updates on the status of the forms. On Feb. 14, her office began filing for eager parents and students who needed to file Form 8863 to claim education credits and to apply for financial aid.

Rick Marain, owner of Marain Income Tax Specialist at 90 W. Morton Ave., said that prior to Feb. 14, his office had 100 of those forms on file and ready to go.
Marain, who has been in Porterville for more than 10 years, said the IRS has delayed forms in the past, but not like this.

“They’ve done this in the past, oh yeah. Is this the worst year? Yes,” he said, stressing that the delay is really Congress’s fault and that the IRS people are just as upset about it as the public. “This is politics, not necessarily the IRS.”

To date, Flores has seen roughly 800 clients and expects to see 1,500 for the entire tax season. Marain said he expects to serve around 4,000 clients this tax season. His office prepares everything from short form to corporate filings.

Both tax prep firms say tax season is winding down, but will peak right around early April, before the April 15 deadline.

Contact Denise Madrid at 784-5000, ext. 1047. Follow her on Twitter @DeniseMadrid_.