Due to tax changes recently approved on January 2 under the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA), the IRS has announced it will now open the tax filing season on Wednesday, January 30, 2013. According to an IRS press release, additional time is required for the IRS to complete and test updates to Federal tax forms, programming and processing systems.

Although the IRS will not start accepting returns until January 30, Taxbrain customers can still create, estimate, prepare and submit returns for electronic filing. Taxbrain will hold any submitted returns until the IRS opens for filing and submit them as soon as IRS systems are available.

More Than 120 Million will be Able to File by Jan. 30

The IRS anticipates that the vast majority of taxpayers — more than 120 million households — will be able to begin filing their returns January 30. This includes tax returns affected by the late Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) patch as well as the three major “extender” provisions for tax preparers claiming the state and local sales tax deduction, higher education tuition and fees deduction and educator expenses deduction.

A Select Few Will Have to Wait Until Later

There are several forms impacted by the late legislation that will not be available by January 30. You will need to wait until late February or March if you are intending to prepare a tax return using forms such as; Form 5695 (Residential Energy Credits), Form 4562 (Depreciation and Amortization) and Form 3800 (General Business Credit). Unlike the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) patch, these forms require more extensive programming and testing of IRS systems. A full listing of the forms that won’t be accepted until later is available on IRS.gov.

The IRS originally planned to open electronic filing this year on January 22 but moved the new date to January 30 to allow for more updates and testing. The IRS is working closely with Taxbrain.com and other tax software industry and tax professionals, to minimize delays and ensure a smooth a tax season.

Learn More about the IRS e-File delay and the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA), at the IRS website.