LITTLE ROCK - Tax seasons officially started Jan. 23, when the Internal Revenue Service began accepting and processing 2022 tax year returns. For those who haven't started preparations yet, now is the time to collect documents and understand the changes to tax credits and deductions that may affect their finances.
The IRS expects more than 168 million individual tax returns to be filed, with the majority of those coming before the April 18 tax deadline. People have three extra days to file this year, as April 15 is a Saturday and the Emancipation Day holiday is observed on April 17 in Washington, D.C.
"For tax year 2022, some tax credits that were expanded in 2021 will return to 2019 levels," said Laura Hendrix, an accredited financial counselor and associate professor of personal finance with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. "This means that some tax filers could receive a smaller refund than last year." Hendrix offers tips for preparing to file this year.
Be Aware of Changes for Credits and Deductions
For tax year 2022 some tax credits that were expanded in 2021 will return to 2019 levels. Changes include amounts for the Child Tax Credit (CTC), Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child and Dependent Care Credit.
Those who received $3,600 per dependent in 2021 for the Child Tax Credit will, if eligible, get $2,000 for the 2022 tax year.
For the Earned Income Tax Credit, eligible taxpayers with no children who received roughly $1,500 in 2021 will now get $500 in 2022.
The Child and Dependent Care Credit returns to a maximum of $2,100 in 2022 instead of $8,000 in 2021.
Unlike 2020 and 2021, there were no new stimulus payments for 2022 so taxpayers should not expect to get an additional payment in their 2023 tax refund.
During COVID, taxpayers were able to take up to a $600 charitable donation tax deduction on their tax retur...
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