The IRS has encouraged taxpayers to utilize tips, tools and other resources available on the IRS website to Get Ready for 2024 filing season. The agency is set to announce the start date for filing season later this month. Taxpayers can use their Individual Protection (IP) Pin or social security number to create/ access their online account in the IRS website. Having an online account in the IRS website will mitigate the process of tax filing. In addition, taxpayers can use “Where’s my refund?” toolto check their tax refund status within 24 hours of filing.
The IRS reminded taxpayers to engage authorized IRS e-file providers, who are qualified to prepare, transmit and process e-filed returns; and to avoid unethical“ghost” return preparers. Meanwhile, there are a few filing assistant tools on the IRS website as well. Some of them include:
- interactive tax assistant, a tool that can help taxpayers with tax law questions;
- earned income tax credit(EITC) assistant, a tool which can help determine their eligibility for Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC);
- IRS free file, a tool to e-file taxes;
- volunteer income tax assistance (VITA) provides free tax help for the elderly, disabled and working families;
- MilTax offers free tax return preparation for all military members and some veterans; and
- direct file pilot, a new tax filing service that permits taxpayers to directly file their returns online for free.
