The IRS has issued a warning to taxpayers in 21 states: If you filed your taxes early, you may want to file an amended return.
During the early parts of the start of tax season this year, the IRS was encouraging residents who lived in a state that offered a 2022 stimulus check to hold off on filing their taxes. That’s because the tax agency was still trying to decide if the payments they received would count as taxable income.
That final decision wasn’t handed down until February 10, which is a few weeks after tax season began. The IRS ultimately ruled that any resident who received a stimulus check in 2022 from one of these states wouldn’t have to include them as part of their tax returns.
The problem is that some of these taxpayers didn’t listen to the IRS and filed their taxes early anyway.
In response, the IRS recently advised:
“Taxpayers who filed before February 10 in these areas and meet these requirements should check their tax return to make sure they paid tax on a state refund before filing an amended return. In addition, taxpayers in this situation who used a tax professional can consult with them to determine whether an amended return is necessary.”
As of that February 10 date, the IRS said it had received 28.8 million filed tax returns. That number was down slightly from last year at the same time, only about 0.8% lower.
There were 17 states that provided their residents with general welfare payments as well as stimulus payments to help with disaster relief. Those states include Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Oregon, New York, New Mexico, New Jersey, Maine, Indiana, Illinois, Idaho, Hawaii, Florida, Delaware, Connecticut, Colorado, California and Alaska.
In the four other states – Virginia, South Carolina, Massachusetts and Georgia – taxpayers don’t have to list any payments from the state if the payment was a refund of taxes that were paid ot the state, and if the recipient claimed the standard deduction or ended up itemizing their taxes but didn’t receive any tax benefit.
Any taxpayer who wishes to file an amended tax return is able to do so online. If they end up doing that, then they’ll be able to get any tax refund they are due directly deposited into their bank account.
Paper amendments are also accepted by the IRS, of course, but the tax agency says that any refunds that are due from returns filed this way can’t be sent as a direct deposit. This means that your refund will take much longer for you to receive if you file by paper.
The deadline to file your 2022 taxes this year is April 18. However, you actually have three more years to file an amended 2022 tax return – all the way up through April of 2026.
So, if you are unsure whether you fit into the categories listed above in one of the states that qualifies, you can take your time to figure out what’s best for you to do.
