Season's Greetings (Tax Season)
Season’s Greetings
By Director of Tax and Economic Justice Shawn Richter
Season’s greetings from the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic. Yes, the season of celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ and the new year has passed, but that season of joy and love has given way to a much more sobering time: Tax Season. This inaugural Tax Blog from the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic will be a simple and straightforward highlight of important facts all taxpayers should know for the coming season. In the coming months, please check back for more detailed blog posts about important tax information relevant to our low-income neighbors.
Important Facts for All Taxpayers:
The IRS is currently accepting tax returns and the filing deadline is April 18, 2023.
October 16, 2023 is the deadline if you request an extension.
For 2022, the standard deduction increased to $12,950 for single filers and $25,900 for married couples filing jointly.
Income tax brackets went up in 2022 to account for inflation. Your tax rate (the percentage of your income you pay in taxes) is based on what tax bracket (income range) you’re in. For example, if you’re single and your income is $75,000, then you’re in the 22% tax bracket. But that doesn’t mean your tax rate is a flat 22%. Instead, part of your income is taxed at 10%, another part at 12%, and the last part at 22%.
For tax year 2022, some tax credits that were expanded in 2021 will return to 2019 levels. This means that affected taxpayers will likely receive a smaller refund compared with the previous tax year. Changes include amounts for the Child Tax Credit (CTC), Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and Child and Dependent Care Credit.
Those who got $3,600 per dependent in 2021 for the CTC will, if eligible, get $2,000 for the 2022 tax year.
For the EITC, eligible taxpayers with no children who received roughly $1,500 in 2021 will now get a maximum of $530 in 2022.
The Child and Dependent Care Credit returns to a maximum of $2,100 in 2022, compared to $8,000 in 2021.
It is also important to remember your low-income tax filing options:
The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA), AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, and the Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs have operated for over 50 years. All these services use IRS certified tax preparers and meet high IRS quality standards. VITA/TCE and Tax-Aide sites offer free tax help to people who need assistance in preparing their tax returns, including:
People who generally make $60,000 or less
Persons with disabilities
Limited English-speaking taxpayers
People 60 years or older
To find a VITA or an AARP Tax Aide site, visit https://www.irs.gov/individuals/free-tax-return-preparation-for-qualifying-taxpayers.
You can prepare and file your own return through https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free if:
Your income is $73,000 or less, you can access guided return preparation assistance.
Your income is greater than $73,000 you can access fillable forms to prepare your own return without assistance.