The Reason You Could Get Even More Money on Your Tax Refund
By:
The deadline to turn in your federal taxes is fast approaching, but you may not know that the federal government is also required to keep deadlines for you.
This year you have to file your federal taxes by Tuesday April 18 or you could owe tax penalties on top your taxes.
However, if you're one of the millions of Americans owed a refund from the federal government, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has incentives to issue it to you in a timely manner.
The IRS has 45 days to send you a refund after the date the tax return was accepted or April 18, according to CNN Money. The federal agency then owes interest every day the refund is late, and the interest rate for the first quarter of 2017 is 4 percent.
The IRS should automatically add the interest to the refund when you get it, but if it's not there, you should call the IRS Advocate Service, a government organization that aims to make sure taxpayers are treated fairly. However, Chris Dotson from Actors Tax Prep in Burbank, California, said that his clients who received their taxes late, had to pay taxes on the interest the following year.
"When they come in to see me, they do have an interest statement from the IRS," he said. "Most people don't even get forms for bank interest anymore, but the IRS will issue you an interest form for the following year."
