Where’s My Refund? New Law Expected to Delay Tax Refunds in 2017

Are you ready to file your income tax? If so, there are some important changes you need to know about for the 2016 tax year.

To help us better understand the new IRS tax updates for 2017 (2016 tax year), I reached out to Sellena Roberson Hunter, owner of 1st United Tax and Accounting, LLC.

Here’s what she shared with Southern Laced:

1. Beginning on January 1, 2017, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:

53.5 cents per mile for business miles driven, down from 54 cents for 2016
17 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, down from 19 cents for 2016
14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations

2. Maximum Credit Amounts Increased

The maximum amount of credit for Tax Year 2016 is:

$6,269 with three or more qualifying children (The PATH Act permanently allows 3rd child Earned Income Credit (EIC))
$5,572 with two qualifying children
$3,373 with one qualifying child
$506 with no qualifying children

3. The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act, also known as the PATH Act, passed in 2016, alerts taxpayers that it’s a new law requiring the IRS to hold refunds claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) until Feb. 15th. The law was passed to help detect and prevent fraud.

4. Taxpayers who are changing tax software products this filing season will need their adjusted gross income from their 2015 tax return in order to file electronically. The Electronic Filing Pin is no longer an option.

5. Where’s My Refund? ‎on IRS.gov and the IRS2Go phone app will be updated with projected deposit dates for early EITC and ACTC refund filers a few days after Feb. 15. Taxpayers will not see a refund date on Where’s My Refund?