BELL COUNTY, TX — Tax season is in full swing and with many people already having filed their taxes, this year is a little different last year ... especially if you are a parent that received those advanced child tax credit payments.
Last summer the IRS began distributing monthly payments to people who qualify for a child tax credit.
”It’s really expanded for 2021. It is almost double what it was for 2020,” said Dr. David Ritter, associate professor of accounting, Texas A&M Central Texas.
Those payments and along with COVID stimulus checks are making this tax season a little harder than in years past.
”In the past, you could just get your forms, kind of put them together, and go file your taxes. Now, we have the child tax credit and the stimulus check that needs to be accounted for and if those things are not input correctly when you file your tax return, there is a high probability that there will be some type of delay.” said Nicholas Jones. Certified Public Accountant.
Simply entering information incorrectly can cause your return to need manual verification by the IRS...a process that is already delayed due to the pandemic.
”We used to expect 3 to 6 weeks for that to get touched. Now, we’re looking at 3 to 6 months for someone to manually process that return and if you need that money, there’s really no need to rush with incomplete information.” said Jones.
The good news, there is help out there that is often free to make sure you don’t miss anything when filing your taxes.
”People that aren’t earning a lot of money should try to look at the Voluntary Income Tax Assistance, VITA. Which is provided by just about every city in the area.” said Dr. Ritter.
The bug takes away, make sure all your information is input correctly and get help if you need it or you could be waiting months for your tax return.
