What to know before you file your taxes for the 2021 year

New York – According to the IRS, January 24 is the first day to file your taxes for the 2021 year, 17 days earlier than usual.

According to the agency, they are moving the date up because of expected issues with filing and returns, because of a number of issues.

A local economic professor at Elmira College, Matthew Burr, with his own consulting company has tips for you to know before you file! He says, “just pay attention to the dates on everything, make sure your W-2 and the tax returns are accurate and all the information is correct and be proactive in submitting documentation to the state-federal government and then again, just be proactive in paying any tax burden that you might have as well.”

When it comes to online tax preparers such as Turbo Tax, Burr shares his thoughts. “I’ve used some of those programs they work fine I don’t have any issue with that. I know that they do take a piece of any tax return you get. So you want to be mindful of how much Turbo Tax or any of those other online tax preparers might take from you when you are submitting documentation and trying to get a return,” says Burr.

The deadline for filing tax returns is Monday, April 18 this year, three days later than the typical April 15 deadline for filing taxes.

The later date is a result of an Emancipation Holiday in the District of Columbia. By law, in Washington, D.C., holidays impact tax deadlines for everyone the same way federal holidays do.