It’s that time of year again. You check your mailbox and find all sorts of fun envelopes marked “Important Tax Information.” They contain a myriad of documents, ranging from W-2s to different varieties of 1099s. They represent income and deductions for your tax return. This is also the time of year where you go empty out your filing cabinets (if you have a filing system) or the various garbage bags and nooks and crannies around your house (if you don’t have a filing system). You collect receipts for anything you might need. It’s better to have more than you need than to be missing a document you do need. Now it is time to do your taxes. Oh, joy! Some people look forward to this day with great excitement because they know they are getting a refund, while others dread this day and would rather go to the dentist and get every tooth pulled. Whether you do your taxes yourself or hire a professional is your decision. There are many avenues for doing it yourself. You can get a booklet and do it by hand, or buy a tax program. There are also a variety of free services available online to file your taxes. Please approach those sites with caution and make sure it is a reputable site before giving it your most personal and private financial information. Your other option is to hire a professional to prepare your taxes. Once again there is a plethora of choices available to you. You have tax chains or individuals who prepare taxes. They are Enrolled Agents, Certified Public Accountants and some tax attorneys. Whether you are going to a chain or having an individual prepare your taxes, do not be afraid to ask for your tax preparer’s credentials. Not all preparers are required to be licensed, but EAs, CPAs and attorneys ARE licensed and have strict rules by which they must abide. These include annual continuing education requirements so you can be assured that your professional is up to date on tax law. Once the taxes are prepared, they need to be filed. The IRS prefers to receive returns electronically. If you have them done professionally, your preparer is more than likely required to file them electronically anyway. The return is sent to the IRS and the first thing they do is acknowledge receipt of the return. They do a quick scan of the return to make sure all names, dates of birth and social security numbers match the Social Security Administration’s records. They also check to make sure that all individuals mentioned on the return (either as a taxpayer, spouse or dependent) are not on a previously accepted return. Now they begin to process the return. In a perfect world, if you chose to receive your refund via direct deposit you will get it within seven to 14 days. If you chose to have the IRS send you a check, it will take 14-21 days. When it comes to tax matters, 2013 is not a perfect world. Congress did not pass any tax law until Jan. 2, so the IRS and software providers were scrambling to catch up. Taxpayers were and are at their mercy. The IRS did not begin accepting returns until Jan. 30. There are still many forms that will not be accepted by the IRS until sometime in early March. If you have filed your return, but are still waiting for your refund, you are not alone. Essentially all returns that were accepted from Jan. 30 through Feb. 5 that had anything to do with kids (earned income credit, additional child tax credit) were pulled for manual processing by the IRS, which held up those returns for up to 30 days. Those refunds are starting to trickle in. Returns accepted by the IRS after Feb. 5 are faster. They are making an effort to get taxpayers their refunds within 21 days and having some success with that. In a nutshell, for 2013, the word is PATIENCE. Outside factors caused things to not run so smoothly, but things are getting better. You will get your refund and if you owe, you still have until April 15 to write that check. FBN