Watch below or scroll further down to read the transcript.

Dave Briggs: 

Frustrating, that’s what the IRS Commissioner is calling the upcoming tax season. Kind of like the entire last three years. In a statement yesterday, Charles Redding said “in many areas we are unable to deliver the amount of service and enforcement that our taxpayers and tax system deserves and needs.” 

This is frustrating for taxpayers, for IRS employees, and for me. While more funding for the IRS is planned in the Build Back Better Act, that bill is stalled and the agency still suffers from worker shortage. For what you can expect this tax season, which gets underway in 13 days, we’re joined by Steve Ellis. He’s the president of Taxpayers for Common Sense. 

So what does all that mean for taxpayers in just a couple of weeks here, Sir. 

Steve Ellis: 

Well, as you said, it’s going to be frustrating for a lot of people, particularly if you have questions and you want to call in or talk to somebody about your taxes. But then, also, there are less people, and they have a big backlog of tax returns from last year that they are still working through, so there are going to be some delays from people filing their taxes and then getting their refunds. 

Dave Briggs: 

Millions in that backlog. So what are your tips? What are your recommendations for people out there other than just being patient? 

Steve Ellis: 

File early, you know. I mean, you are right, there are about 8,000,000 tax returns from last year that have not been processed. Normally, at this time, there would be about a million, so you can see there is already a backlog. But if you file early, then not only are you going to get your check sooner, if you’re getting a return, but also you are ahead of that many other applications. The other thing is to file online. Electronically free if you can. If you have an adjusted gross income of less than $72,000, then you can file for free online. 

Dave Briggs: 

So, Steve, refunds the big deal here. How long might people have to wait? 

Steve Ellis: 

I mean, it’s really anybody’s guess. It really depends on how complex your return is and how many other returns are being processed at the same time. But it could be a while. But you know one thing to keep in mind is that you should be really trying to align your taxes so that you basically have very little over return at the end of the year. Otherwise, you’re giving a free loan to the government for the whole year. 

Dave Briggs: 

Yeah, that that works for every year. I hate to suggest this, but is this cushion for people to file late to sit back and not worry about the deadlines as much as they typically do? 

Steve Ellis: 

Well, they get an extra couple of days because the 15th is a holiday in the District of Columbia and so they get until the 18th. But no, I think you’re always better off getting your taxes in earlier and not worrying about any kind of penalties or other issues. Procrastination is not your friend. 

Dave Briggs: 

The child tax credit – 35 million received this child tax credit this year alone – how will it impact their refunds and what’s the status of that moving forward, given the status of Build Back Better? 

Dave Briggs: 

So, on the child tax credit, one thing that they did that was relatively unique is, normally, these credits are all done at the end of the tax year, but in this case, recognizing that the cost of rearing a child isn’t only an annual cost, it’s actually a monthly cost. They’ve been allocating the funding along the way. So, you may have a smaller refund, but in reality it’s because you’ve been getting the money along the way. And so that may look a little jarring to some people, but that’s the status of that. Now as far as going forward, there is an effort to extend the child tax credit, but that’s stalled in the same process of the Build Back Better Act that you referred to before. 

Dave Briggs: 

OK, Steve Ellis. He’s the president of the Taxpayers for Common Sense. Great information, good tips for taxpayers. Appreciate your time, Sir. 

Dave Briggs: 

Absolutely. Thanks for having me.