“Every year, changes are made to the tax code and annual renewals of proposed deductions or credits,” explains Dennis G. Raible, C.P.A., visiting professor of accounting at Saint Joseph’s University.
But this year, a few things will make filing more complicated.
Affordable Care Act
“The largest change coming into play this year is the Affordable Care Act,” says Raible. “For 75 percent of taxpayers, this will simply mean checking off a box to indicate that they are insured. But the remaining 25 percent will have to determine if they have an exemption or will be responsible for a shared responsibility payment.”
Individuals with state or federal insurance programs may also see an impact on their return if they received advanced premiums that were too high or too low.
IRS Budget Cuts
Another concern filers face this tax season is increased wait times at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) due to budget cuts.
As a partner at a CPA firm in Mount Laurel, NJ, Dennis says he has experienced extended wait time on the IRS practitioner call line, on hold for nearly two hours for one call.
In fiscal year 2004, the IRS failed to respond to customer inquiries within the communicated 45-day window in 12 percent of instances. In 2013, they failed to respond within this time period to 53 percent of the time. (The Guardian, 2014). “This number will go up with the additional budget cuts this year,” says Raible, who worked for the IRS as a revenue agent, conducting audits of large companies, for 30 years.
“Budget cuts will also impact training and travel support for revenue agents, which will hinder the effectiveness of audits,” he warns.
E-filing and Online Resources
To avoid the long wait times for refunds and ease a potentially confusing filing process Raible suggests that taxpayers file online.
“Despite the recent reports of fraud, e-filing is still the safest way to process your returns,” says Raible. “The IRS has a good process for dealing with fraud resolution, and most can e-file for free by using IRS Freefile, or with the assistance of a tax software like TurboTax.”
“E-filing makes it easy to submit your federal and state returns at once and allows you to receive your return quicker,” he adds, advising that using a tax prep software can help to reduce the number of errors in your return and assist with the more complicated aspects.
Perhaps anticipating issues with the call lines, the IRS has prepared tutorials and Q&As for the social media savvy taxpayer. “The IRS YouTube Channel has videos that will walk you through parts of the process,” says Raible. “They also have a Twitter feed, podcast channel, Facebook page, Tumblr account and a mobile app that allows you to track the progress of your return and status of your refund.”
And if you’re still not sure how to fill out your forms? “Contact a professional to help you prepare your returns,” says Raible.
Free Services at SJU: VITA
For senior and low-income taxpayers, trained Saint Joseph’s University accounting students will provide complimentary tax prep service through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, run in cooperation with the IRS and the Pa. Department of Revenue for eight weeks (by appointment only). “With 60 volunteers, each certified and trained in the IRS program, we expect to file federal and state returns for 350 individuals this year,” says Raible.
Contact InformationRaible can be reached for comment at [email protected], at 610-660-1131 or by calling University Communications at 610-660-3256.
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