Post Card Details
The 2023 Tax Year Postcard is a great reminder that the tax season is upon us. It can also convey some high level points to be aware of for the current year. Hopefully you are here because you read the postcard and came to the website for the full and complete details on this upcoming tax season. Thank You!
The 2023 Tax season is fast approaching. The IRS has announced that the E-File system will open on January 29th, 2024. Any return prepared before that date will be filed and automatically transmitted when the IRS E-Filing opens. Per Federal Law (PATH Act) ANY return containing the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credits will have the refunds delayed by the IRS until February 15th or later.
We have a full staff of tax professionals ready and willing to work on tax returns for the next few months. We are back to an in-person tax preparation office where we prepare your tax return while you sit at our desk. Preparing the return in this way allows us to ask and answer questions which has worked exceptionally well over the decades. In March, 2020 we had to convert our entire operation to a drop-off only model of preparation due to COVID. This continued for the remainder of the 2020 tax season (which ended on July 15th, 2020) and was also in place for the entire 2021 tax season. We were mostly back to live and in-person tax returns for 2022 and 2023, but with a slightly higher percentage of drop off returns than before COVID. We anticipate that the drop off percentage will remain consistent with 2022 and 2023 levels with the majority of our tax returns prepared live and in-person. For more information on how our tax preparation process works, click 'HERE'.
This tax year is mostly about Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency. If you installed new doors, windows, insulation, furnace, central air, water heaters, boiler, or a Home Energy Audit, you may qualify for a tax credit that can reduce your tax. Then there are tax credits on Geothermal Heat Pumps, Small Wind Turbines, and Solar Energy Systems. If you use Battery Storage or Fuel Cells with clean energy you may also qualify for a tax credit. These are non-refundable tax credits, which basically means you need to have tax that you owe for the tax credit to help you. If your tax liability is already down to zero, then this tax credit does not help you.
If that wasn't enough, you may be able to receive a tax credit for plug-in electric vehicles. This new credit can potentially reduce your tax bill provided you qualify. The rules regarding this credit are based around your income and the vehicle. These must be new or used vehicles from a dealership. You cannot purchase a used vehicle from someone and receive the credit, it must be from a dealership. In addition, a used vehicle can only receive the tax credit once in the vehicles lifetime. If you purchased a new or used Electric Vehicle in 2023, or plan to do so in the future, then ask your tax preparer for some details when you come into the office. Both the Clean Energy Credit and the Energy Efficiency Credit are available for tax years 2023 through tax year 2032!
Speaking of law changes, there are some rumblings from Congress here in January, 2024. Congress is looking to pass some tax law changes that would be retroactive to include 2023 and affect your tax return that we are filing now. We are monitoring the situation and if anything comes from this we will update the website and let clients know when they are in the office. Remember the song, "I'm Just A Bill!" from Schoolhouse Rock? Yep! It takes a lot to get a law passed, so this is nowhere near certain at this point and should not be a cause to delay preparing your tax return.
I hope this helps to provide a greater amount of detail than what can be conveyed in the post card.
Best Regards,
Acc-U-Rite Tax