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This year's tax deadline is April 18
Larry Griffin
lgriffin@thesmokymountaintimes.com
Tax season is coming to an end soon – the deadline this year is Tuesday, April 18, and Bryson City tax professional Toby Allman says filing has been easier this year since most of the Covid-19-era anomalies have faded.
“The biggest problem from 2021 was people trying to remember if they received the stimulus or if they got the advanced child tax credit,” he said. “In 2022, no one got those things.”
The reason for the slightly later deadline this year is because the usual April 15 date is on a weekend, and Washington DC celebrates Emancipation Day on Monday, April 17, celebrating the day slavery was ended in the city in 1862.
Asked what kinds of common mistakes people make, Allman said it was a good idea to double-check one’s address, social security number and other such basic details to avoid making mistakes on their taxes that could come back to bite them.
He also said it is prudent to file electronically rather than mailing in one’s taxes physically, since there’s less chance of the return getting lost and, when filing electronically, the return usually comes back faster.
There have been more earned income credits in the past few years as the government was giving more to single people or married couples with no kids. But that’s been fading out, so things are comparatively simpler this year, Allman said.
One of the changes he’s noticed is that there are less itemized deductions happening now – most people are just taking the standard deduction.
“Very few people can itemize,” he said. “Most take the standard deduction. To itemize, you need mortgage payments, medical bills, real estate tax, property tax, charitable contributions – very few people can do that.”