Delayed Refunds for Some in 2017

Claim EITC or ACTC - Refunds delayed until February 15.

Do you or any of your clients claim either the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) on Form 1040? The IRS has just announced that there is a new provision of the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (PATH Act) that was enacted Dec. 18, 2015, that affects you or your clients. If a taxpayer files an early return in 2017, and there is a refund that results from claiming either of these two credits, the IRS will not issue the refund until after February 15.

It doesn't matter how much of the refund is attributed to either the EITC or the ACTC. If there is any refund, all of it will be held until after February 15.

The IRS has announced it will start sharing more information about this new provision during the second half of 2016.