RALEIGH- The newly-enacted path act will delay processing of filings that include earned income and additional child tax credits.
The IRS says this will allow more time to verify the filings and prevent fraud. Those filings will not be processed until February 15th at the earliest, meaning many people who planned on having their returns early could be caught off-guard.
"During this time of the year, everybody is filing tax returns. More than, I would say, 90 to 95 percent of the tax payers will have either of these parameters, either the child tax credit or the earned income credit," said Krish Mahalingam, a manager of Libery Tax in Raleigh.
Tax preparers suggest taking the extra documentation with such as security cards when filing this year to help speed the process along.
The Tax Policy Center reports almost one in five tax filers in 2016 filed their returns by February 5.