Tax season officially started this week with Monday being the first day when taxpayers can begin filing tax refund documents with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
What makes this season special is the launch of a new program by the IRS that could mean the beginning of the end for a substantial portion of business from tax preparation companies.
While tax documents can already be filed, most users can expect to receive documents from employers, mortgage companies and others during the coming weeks. These need to be submitted before the April 15 deadline, which is adopted by most states.
Tax refunds can be expected to hit accounts within 21 days, if filing was done electronically.
Since last Monday, the IRS launched a free tax filing pilot program called Direct File, which is now available for federal and state workers in 12 states.
The program was developed in-house ...