Tax filing season opens Tuesday
It's tax time again.
State and federal tax returns can be filed beginning Tuesday, but Minnesota Revenue Commissioner Cynthia Bauerly said most people won't be ready to file just yet.
Last year, only about 200,000 Minnesotans had filed as early as the end of January, because many people need more time to get their documents in order. Most people begin to file in February, after they've received their W-2 forms. Employers are required to send out those forms by Jan. 31.
When you're ready to file, Bauerly said, consider filing electronically. It's the fastest way for your taxes to be processed. Department of Revenue staff can process electronic returns at twice the rate they can handle paper returns, she said.
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"We want to make sure that everyone remembers that filing electronically, paying electronically and direct-depositing any potential refund is the best way and the fastest way to get their taxes done," she said.
Changes this year
For the first time under the Affordable Care Act, most Americans will have to certify that they had health insurance coverage in 2014 to avoid a tax penalty. Large employers are required to give workers documentation of insurance. Small businesses are not.
The National Association of Tax Professionals' Minnesota chapter president, Jane Amble, said that even though the filing window opens this month, her firm, JBA Tax Preparation, won't see a big rush of customers until February.
"Everyone gets excited about January 20, but most people don't have W-2s, 1099's, bank interest, those kinds of things that early," she said.