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WASHINGTON ― The Internal Revenue Service announced that the nation’s tax season will start on Friday, February 12, 2021, when the tax agency will begin accepting and processing 2020 tax year returns.

The February 12 start date for individual tax return filers allows the IRS time to do additional programming and testing of IRS systems following the December 27 tax law changes that provided a second round of Economic Impact Payments and other benefits.

Key filing season dates

There are several important dates taxpayers should keep in mind for this year’s filing season:

• January 15. IRS Free File opens. Taxpayers can begin filing returns through Free File partners; tax returns will be transmitted to the IRS starting Feb. 12. Tax software companies also are accepting tax filings in advance.
• January 29. Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day to raise awareness of valuable tax credits available to many people – including the option to use prior-year income to qualify.
• February 12. IRS begins 2021 tax season. Individual tax returns begin being accepted and processing begins.
• February 22. Projected date for the IRS.gov Where’s My Refund tool being updated for those claiming EITC and ACTC, also referred to as PATH Act returns.
• First week of March. Tax refunds begin reaching those claiming EITC and ACTC (PATH Act returns) for those who file electronically with direct deposit and there are no issues with their tax returns.
• April 15. Deadline for filing 2020 tax returns.
• October 15. Deadline to file for those requesting an extension on their 2020 tax returns

Proponents of tax simplification have bandied about the idea for a postcard-type 1040 for years. It came closer to fruition when the massive Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was enacted at the end of 2017. Supporters of the legislation, including the Trump administration, bragged that taxpayers would be able to file a return on a single small sheet of paper. Despite the TCJA changes, however, the IRS still requires more information than what can be entered on just a few lines. 

After the 2018 tax filing season—the first year most of the TCJA provisions affecting individuals went into effect—the IRS rolled out a prototype replacing old forms 1040, 1040A and 1040EZ. It wasn’t quite the size of a postcard but it was definitely shorter than those other forms. Yet it didn’t really cut down on the paperwork.

In fact, the new version required taxpayers to complete six additional forms and schedules that would have to be inserted into an envelope. This could lead to additional complexity and confusion and, ultimately, more errors. What’s more, the vast majority of taxpayers now file returns electronically, reducing the need for a postcard-sized 1040. 

Taking its cue from the tax community, which generally objected to the prototype as being wasteful and inefficient, the IRS has announced that is abandoning its earlier effort and working on a new version that more closely resembles the traditional 1040. Some members of Congress doubted the viability of a postcard in the first place. 

“Form changes are, for the most part, transparent to the vast majority of taxpayers because they file electronically. So far this year over 131 million taxpayers chose e-file,” said Bruce I. Friedland, IRS spokesman. “The IRS makes changes to tax forms every year. The IRS has proposed minor changes to the draft 2019 Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, and will continue to work with the tax community to finalize the form over the summer, so it can be used for 2019 tax returns filed in 2020. Based on feedback from both taxpayers and the tax community, some minor changes were made to the form, which continues to be less than 2 pages, and the supplemental schedules were reduced from six to three. The changes make it even easier for taxpayers to file their returns. The tax form continues to be shorter than the 2017 Form 1040.”

The IRS is accepting public commentary on the new 1040 until August 15. It expects to have a final form in place by November. 

“We never believed that it would be a postcard. Never. Not for a moment,” House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) told Bloomberg News. “I heard that over and over again during my time and career and I think that makes more for a good photograph than it does for a good policy.”