End of January Marks Tax Filing Kick-Off

The Internal Revenue Service kicked off its 2014 tax filing season Friday. 2013's Federal Government shutdown had caused a push-back in the start of the season, which is traditionally in mid-January.

Karen Connelly, spokes person for the IRS, says that the agency is using the kick-off to spotlight several resources the IRS makes available on its website.

"One of the easiest way to get your taxes done is to Free-File," says Connelly.  "If you earn about $58,000 or less, you can use the free software on our website.  Otherwise you can use the Free-File fillable forms, which are basically electronic version of paper tax forms."

People looking for paper forms can print them out from  the IRS website, or you can have them delivered via the website as well.

The IRS is also using the tax filing kick-off to highlight the Earned Income Tax Credit, which benefits low-to-moderate income individuals.

"In order to qualify you have to have earned a little bet less than $52,000," says Connelly.  "The amount of credit you get back varies by your income, your family size and your filing status.  A quick way to figure out a way if you qualify for this great tax credit is to go to our website and use our E.I.T. assistant."

Taxpayers have until Tuesday, April 15, 2014 to file their 2013 tax returns and pay any tax due. The IRS expects to receive more than 148 million individual tax returns this year, and more than four out of five returns are now filed electronically.