It is once again everyone's favorite, magical time of the year. Nope, it is not Christmas, July 4th or college football season. It is tax filing season. As there is every year as well, some people like to file early to get the chore out of the way. Some wait until the last minute, fearful of owing tons of money. It is a game of chicken that no one wants to play.
Whether you love it, hate it, or just do not care, it all produces the same outcome. People file, get their refunds, and go on about their lives. But this season has started a little different. So far, compared to last year, almost eight percent fewer people have filed their tax returns. While that is not a staggering drop, there is a little bit of concern with it.
Joel Griffith of Advancing American Freedom says a calendar shift made filing season a bit earlier this year. However, part of it is also some people holding onto hopes that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is abolished or replaced.
"The IRS is not going anywhere...there will still be agents employed, and there will still be investigations into those who fail to file their tax returns," he says.
There is also some new things in this tax season, like 1099-K forms, for anything over $5,000. But that does not account for an eight percent drop overall. Mostly it is just hopes that President Trump will get rid of the IRS. That is not happening anytime in the near future, or maybe even the distant future.
Another factor could also be just a misunderstanding of what President Trump is implementing, such as tax cuts.
"You hear a lot about the extension of these...that is not going to apply to last year's income," says Griffith. "The elimination of income taxes, and taxes on overtime or tips, that would only be applicable to the next tax year."
None of that has fully come to pass just yet, either. The House recently passed the 'big, beautiful budget bill' this week, which includes no taxes on tips or overtime. So, there is no world in which that will apply on this year's tax filing.
Nevertheless, refund season is beginning, and the IRS has been fairly quick already with returns. People have been getting their money back very quickly. So, it is in your best interest to get in while the getting is good.
"The longer you wait to file, that means the longer you will have to wait to get your refund," Griffith says.
He adds that filing quicker not only gets your money back quicker but is stops the government from borrowing your money for free.
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