This year's tax filing season begins Jan. 14, and the IRS is reminding taxpayers to use electronic filing to avoid delays. (Reuters) (We Chinese in America Media Editor Tang Zhao, January 11, 2022) The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced on the 10th that this year's tax filing season will start on January 14, 17 days earlier than last year, and the deadline will be April 18. Due to the escalating epidemic and the budget provided by Congress is less than what is requested by the Biden administration, it will be more challenging for the IRS to process tax forms and refunds. Therefore, taxpayers should use electronic filing to avoid delays. "The epidemic continues to pose challenges, and we remind the public to pay attention to timely filing to avoid delays. Preparing for a large-scale tax filing season is a daunting task, and we have been preparing non-stop for the past few months." IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig also called for Taxpayers to use electronic tax returns, and tax refunds should be in the form of direct bank deposits. This year's tax filing deadline is Monday, April 18, three days after the usual April 15 deadline. The three-day delay is due to the Emancipation Holiday in the District of Columbia, which, by law, has the same effect on tax filing deadlines as any other federal holiday. In addition, Maine and Massachusetts have April 19 tax filing deadlines due to the Patriotic Day holidays in both states. Last year's tax filing season began on February 12, and the deadline was extended from April 15 to May 17 because of the new tax law mandated by the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. But the IRS said there are no plans to extend this year’s tax filing season, and taxpayers can apply for an extension if they can’t complete their filing by April 18, and no later than Oct. 17 to file their 2021 returns. The per capita tax refund for the 2020 tax filing season is $2,815. If there is no error in the tax form and there is no delay in processing, the taxpayer can expect to receive a tax refund 21 days after tax filing. As of December 23, 2021, there was still a backlog of 2020 tax forms processed by the IRS, with about 6 million tax forms remaining unprocessed due to issues such as tax form errors. (Source: World Journal)