Almost a third of Americans wait until the last minute to file but there are benefits to filing early. You are less likely to make mistakes if you aren't rushing and you'll get your refund faster.
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"For most taxpayers, what you'll notice is the IRS adjusted a bunch of things to account for higher than normal inflation," said Herb Weisbaum of Consumers' Checkbook.
Weisbaum says to be aware that the IRS adjusted the standard deduction that most people take by about six and a half percent. It also adjusted income thresholds.
"If the IRS had not made these tweaks to the tax brackets, something called bracket creep could have happened. People who got a cost of living adjustment because of higher inflation may have found themselves in a higher tax bracket. They wanted to prevent that."
If you bought an electric vehicle last year make sure you see if you're eligible for up to $7,500 in tax credits.
"But there are a lot of rules based on how much money you make. Based on where the car was made. It had to be assembled in North America, the battery components and the MSRP for the vehicle."
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"The best way to file your tax return is with E file electronic filing and a direct deposit of any refund you're going to get."
The IRS says if you do both of those things, you should have your refund in 21 days or less.
"If you file a paper return, we're talking about at least four weeks big difference."
And Weisbaum is optimistic that we won't see the same kind of backlog as in recent years.
"They've hired more people to work the telephones, they're going to start opening and or extending the hours at some of its tax centers where you can go in and get help."
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The IRS promises that overall customer service should be greatly improved.
And Philadelphia councilmember Rue Landau urges people to file for free if they're eligible.
"There are 240,000 Philadelphians who are eligible for free tax preparation services, but only 25% of them take advantage of it, leaving millions of dollars on the table that could be in the pockets of Philadelphians."
Councilmember Landau has introduced a bill requiring tax preparers to inform consumers of free tax services.
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