More than 3 million people will have to wait until February to get their tax refunds because of Congress' late fix to the alternative minimum tax, according to the IRS.
Congress put a one-year freeze on growth of the alternative minimum tax (AMT) last month, shielding many middle- and upper-middle income taxpayers from the tax. But Congress' late action means the Internal Revenue Service won't be able to start processing five AMT-related forms until February, delaying potential refunds for those people until then.
As many as 13.5 million people will have to wait until Feb. 11, to start filing with the five AMT-related forms. The IRS was able to reprogram its computers to begin accepting other AMT-related forms when the tax season opens in early January.
The alternative minimum tax was passed in 1969 and was aimed at about 155 very wealthy families who used deductions to avoid paying any federal income tax. The AMT disallows certain deductions and credits. It was not adjusted for inflation and as a result, over the years it has hit a growing number of middle-income taxpayers.
More than 4 million were subject to it in the 2006 tax year. Without the congressional fix, more than 20 million families would have been faced with an extra $2,000 tax bill on average. The five forms affected by the delay are:
Form 8863, Education Credits.
Form 5695, Residential Energy Credits.
Form 1040A's Schedule 2, Child and Dependent Care Expenses for Form 1040A Filers.
Form 8396, Mortgage Interest Credit and
Form 8859, District of Columbia First-Time Homebuyer Credit.
Taxpayers using those forms will have to wait until February to file those forms with their taxes. The IRS will begin processing those forms on Feb.11, and the first refunds for those people will start going out 10 to 14 days later.
More than 100 million people got refunds last year.
Congress passes legislation every year to keep the AMT tax from expanding. The fix this year was delayed by an argument between Republicans and Democrats over whether some taxes should rise to offset the cost of correcting the AMT.
The House's Democratic majority demanded that the $50 billion cost of the tax relief be paid for mainly by closing a loophole on offshore tax havens. But Republicans' argument that the AMT shouldn't be fixed with increased taxes on the rich prevailed, with the backing of a White House. The Dec. 19 passage of the AMT fix threw the IRS's schedule off because it takes several weeks to reprogram the agency's computers to adjust for congressional action.
IRS officials recommend that people file electronically to get faster refunds. People who file electronically and get direct deposits into their accounts can expect refunds in 10-14 days, while those who file with paper forms can expect a wait of as long as six weeks.
The IRS is also working with tax professionals and the makers of tax preparation software to make sure their information is as up-to-date as possible.
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Never trust an "efile provider" who emails spam to you.
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