Don’t look now, but the tax season officially got under way Monday. That’s the day the Internal Revenue Service started accepting and processing 2021 tax returns.

The Jan. 24 start date for individual tax return filers allowed the IRS time to perform programming and testing critical to ensuring IRS systems run smoothly. Updated programming helps ensure that eligible people can claim the proper amount of the Child Tax Credit after comparing their 2021 advance credits and claim any remaining stimulus money as a Recovery Rebate Credit when they file their 2021 tax return.

IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said, “Planning for the nation's filing season process is a massive undertaking, and IRS teams have been working non-stop these past several months to prepare." Rettig urged taxpayers to speed the process by filing electronically and choosing direct deposit for their tax refunds.

Having an accurate tax return can avoid processing delays, refund delays and later IRS notices, according to the IRS. This is especially important for people who received advance Child Tax Credit payments or Economic Impact Payments (American Rescue Plan stimulus payments) in 2021; they will need the amounts of these payments when preparing their tax return. The IRS is mailing special letters to recipients, and they can also check amounts received on IRS.gov.

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