The Internal Revenue Service announced today that the upcoming tax season is expected to start on time for everyone except certain taxpayers potentially affected by late enactment of the Alternative Minimum Tax “patch.

First some good news.  Following extensive work in recent weeks, the IRS expects to be able to begin processing returns for the vast majority of taxpayers in mid-January.  The IRS has been able to reprogram its systems to begin processing seven AMT-related forms, including Form 6251, Alternative Minimum Tax – Individuals.  Taxpayers filing these seven forms should not experience delays in filing, and the IRS expects to begin processing those returns starting on Jan. 14.

However, as many as 13.5 million taxpayers using five forms related to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) legislation will have to wait to file tax returns until the IRS completes the reprogramming of its systems for the new law.  The Forms that will not be processed until mid-February are:

• Form 8863, Education Credits.
• Form 5695, Residential Energy Credits.
• Form 1040A’s Schedule 2, Child and Dependent Care Expenses for Form 1040A Filers.
• Form 8396, Mortgage Interest Credit.
• Form 8859, District of Columbia First-Time Homebuyer Credit.

Electronic returns involving those five forms will not be accepted until systems are updated in February; similarly, paper filers should wait to file as well. All other e-file and paper returns will be accepted starting in January.

IMPORTANT:  EROs may prepare and hold tax returns containing one or more of these forms (above) until the IRS can accept them. EROs must advise taxpayers that the returns will not be e-filed until the IRS can accept the five forms mentioned above. The stockpiling rule does not apply in this situation. 

The tax packages mailed by the IRS this month to about 16.5 million taxpayers don't have the updated forms. So taxpayers who prepare their own returns will have to download the forms from IRS.gov.  The tax packages include cautionary language to taxpayers that late legislation was pending.

When announcing the revised filing schedule, the IRS included the following reminders:

·          Taxpayers filing electronically should make sure to update their tax software in order to get the latest AMT updates.

·          Taxpayers with $54,000 or less in Adjusted Gross Income can use Free File to electronically file their returns for free.  Free File will only be available by visiting the official IRS web site at IRS.gov. In all, 90 million taxpayers qualify for this free service.

·          Taxpayers who use tax software to print out paper copies of tax forms should make sure they update their software before printing out forms.  Taxpayers using paper forms can also visit IRS.gov to get updated copies of AMT forms.

The IRS has created a special section on IRS.gov to provide taxpayers with additional information and copies of updated forms affected by the AMT.  In recent days, the IRS has posted updated copies of all forms affected by the late enactment of the AMT patch by Congress. 

The IRS is also working closely with tax professionals and the tax preparation software community to make sure they can help taxpayers with all of the latest developments on the enactment of the AMT patch and other tax changes.“The IRS is going to continue to do everything it can to make this a fully successful filing season for the nation’s taxpayers,” Stiff said.  “We will continue to work to keep taxpayers up to date and make this situation as easy as possible for everyone.”

The deadline for all taxpayers remains April 15. An automatic six-month extension remains available.  If you e-file a return before Feb. 11 you will get a response message asking you to resubmit your tax return when IRS systems are ready.