Refund Delays For Some
According to a recent article, refunds are being delayed for some lower income taxpayers; especially those that file for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The primary reason for the delay is these taxpayers tend to file early, and these returns are particularly susceptible to Identity Theft & fraud. Highlights include:
- Delays are due to the closer scrutiny the IRS is paying to these returns in an effort to combat fraud/Identity Theft
- IRS spokesmen Terry Lemons claims that fewer than 5% of these types of tax returns are being delayed
- Wal-Mart has reported that they have cashed $1.7 Billion in refund checks this year so far, compared to about $3 billion in 2012. This significant drop is attributed to the delay in the tax filing season this year.
- Over 13 million filers claimed the EITC last year. Using the 5% figure above, that equates to about 650,000 delayed refunds
- The IRS is asking taxpayers to provide documentation for children living with them like birth certificates, doctors bills or report cards
Source: Reuters