MONEY MATTERS: What you need to know if you're filing your taxes early this year

Money Matters sponsored by Gulf Credit Union well it's about that time tax fouling season is fast approaching and the IRS says Americans can officially start fouling returns for 2023 on January 29th that's the time we all dread almost 130 million individual tax returns are expected to be filed this season ABC's M wi spoke with the tax specialist to learn how you can avoid those penalties and maximize your refund another tax filing season is here and for millions of Americans filing taxes it may not be easy they get very stressful during this time because it is your largest single financial transaction Mark steber Jackson hu's chief tax information Officer says several tips can help you through the process A Date to Remember is January 31st the day employers must have W2 forms either mailed or furnished if you don't have it or or you don't know where it is yet don't be thinking it's an action plan that I'll just wait it'll come later they never come later also he says file quickly and electronically it's the fastest way to receive a refund you want to file early so you can lock up your data with the IRS and some schemer who bought or stole your data can't swoop in and file in front of you and steal your refund steber says pay close attention when filing as there were some big tax changes in 2023 such as more incentives for green energy and EV credits there were some inflationary adjustments bigger standard deduction higher Earned Income Tax Credit lower tax rate brackets in a response to inflation and then of course at the end of the year there were some green energy credits put into place and don't slack off he says the April 15th federal tax filing deadline will come quicker than you may realize we have seen a continual uh acceleration of the filing extensions and more people filing later if you need extra help there are programs out there that will give free assistance such as through the volunteer income tax assistance program and aarp's tax aid program if needed filing for an extension by April will give people until October to finalize returns but if you miss any deadlines your return may be considered late which will then prompt the IRS to pile on penalties and interest MWI ABC News Washington all right I think for me it's little by little just starting to get one thing in line as far as paperwork that type of thing to get to the fin because it feels overwhelming sometimes right so do you prefer to go online or go in person I always do mine online I probably miss a lot of those extra incentives but I feel like I can do it you know if I if I do it online and start saying I owe too much I'm like nope I'm going in person there you go