The Fiscal Cliff... and Tax Filings

Well, the politicians in Washington finally made up their minds on how we are to be taxed in 2012, and so this year, as last, the Internal Revenue Service is left to scramble to decide what tax forms will look like in order to properly reflect the wishes of Congress. After they do that, then they send the changes to the software developers who design the inputs for electronic filing — let’s face it, there aren’t too many returns filed on paper these days, and the IRS would like it to shrink down to 0% in the future — then the programming needs to be tested, so it’s looking like it might be mid-February before taxpayers will be able to file their returns for 2012. It’s not all bad news, since it gives taxpayers plenty of time to get organized, and make sure that stray 1099-MISC or Form K-1 arrives before returns are prepared. For us professionals, it’s not great news, since it shrinks the window of opportunity for us to file our client’s returns on time. If there’s anything I’ve learned since I started doing taxes, it’s that you have to expect the unexpected. Although with the delays of last year and this year, maybe we are moving toward a mid-February start to the season as a regular occurrence. Happy new year!