The Internal Revenue Service has announced that they will begin accepting paper and e-file tax returns on Monday, January 29th, 2018. The deadline for filing returns or extensions for the 2017 tax year is Tuesday, April 17, 2018.

You can file your tax returns with your tax professional earlier than this date, and they will be held until the IRS begins accepting submissions on the 29th. Paper returns will begin to be accepted on this date, but the IRS has stated that processing of paper returns will not begin until mid-February due to some system updates. E-filings will begin processing on the 29th, so file electronically for faster refunds. Generally refunds for e-filed returns are direct deposited 10-14 days after processing.

By law, the IRS cannot issue refunds for returns claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) before mid-February. These returns will be accepted and processed starting January 29th, but any refunds due on those returns will be held until mid-February. Due to the President’s Day holiday extending bank processing times, taxpayers who chose direct deposit can expect that the earliest EITC/ACTC related refunds will hit bank accounts is February 27, 2018 if there are no other issues with the tax return. EITC and ACTC returns will not have a refund date on the IRS’s Where’s My Refund? ‎tool until late February.