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So, our wonderfully magnanimous congresspeople decided a few years ago that the best way to protect needy families with lots of kids from fraud was to make sure that they had to wait several weeks to get their much-needed tax refunds. How thoughtful of them! I can tell you that I feel so much better knowing that the IRS gets to keep my money for longer now. It helps me sleep at night, if you know what I mean!
My question is this–if you have filed with the same dependents, using the same software, having you DD go into the same account for YEARS, can’t they logically conclude that you are who you say you are? Has anyone heard any chatter about there being a point wherein folks in this situation no longer have to be shackled by PATH?
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@somuchmore.. I claim 0 on my w-4 .. my federal withholdings are usually around 1500-2000 for the year. My refund is usually thousands more than my withholdings.. so…thats not really giving the gov a loan.
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The path act is more than just a delay for certain filers though. It is really great legislation. It helps prevent people from claiming fraudulent tax withholding, includes new provisions for ITIN filers, contains the wrongful incarceration exclusion which allows the wrongfully accused to claim restitution and it expanded the work opportunity credit for employers. Prior to it being enacted there were huge problems in all those areas including identity theft. We are better for this.
You don’t want to be getting a refund anyway. They are bad. Getting your tax liability to close to zero by changing your W-4 withholdings is much better. You are basically giving the government a loan. That you aren’t sure will be repaid. They are allowed to hold it as they see fit with accordance to the laws and policies outlined in the massive and complicated tax code. Your refund can be held for years. I suggest meeting with a CPA ,some charge as little as $25, and having them help in adjusting your income withholdings. If you do this your get the same amount but throughout the year instead of waiting for a frustrating tax season. You may even still get a small more reasonable refund of $100 or owe some. In fact, owing under a $100 means you did something right all year and got your money in your paychecks. Use the extra to pay bills or put into your IRA or retirement for an even bigger right off next year. Or a savings account.
I am not understanding why everyone is putting themselves through this and being angry at the outcome. Adjust your withholding.
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Oh, and if you are audited, you will stand the chance of not seeing your refund for a MINIMUM of 6 weeks AFTER they are finished with your return (because they will treat it as if you filled a paper return), up to MAYBE 6 months….but I have heard of people seeing their returns nearly a year AFTER the audit was finished. That’s too long for the wait, so if I were you, I would walk the PATH and wait the wait. It’s better than taking the chance.
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The only way that you MAY qualify is if you are going through a genuine PROVEN hardship. You will have to go and see a tax advocate and show proof that you are in danger of losing your home or something just as serious, and even then, you may not even be approved for a faster refund. The PATH act was put into place to eliminate tax fraud on the bases that some people are trying to claim children that are not theirs and combat identity theft. When you do go and see the TA, make sure that you take up to date proof of identity, certified birth certificates of all children that are YOURS, and proof of your hardship. They MIGHT put in a notice in the records that will help you, but then they may also subject you to a tax audit just to make sure that no one else is claiming the credits that you are claiming for the same dependents. So basically it’s a roll of the dice / a game of chance. I suffered ID theft nearly 6 years ago, where someone used my SSN and filed taxes in my name while I was unemployed. They collected over $30,000, and I didn’t find out until AFTER I got back to work, had worked nearly a year, and tried to file during the following tax year! For people like me who have actually suffered ID theft (and I claimed the same dependents as I always did in prior work years) it is a complete nightmare! While I hate the wait, I love that they are putting these practices into play so that others will not go through what I had to.
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I can tell you speaking from preparing taxes for a living plus being under PATH. It sucks yeah but I’m grateful for PATH. I’ve had so many people ask me to put their neighbors aunts kids as dependents etc. Fraud is real. And it’s very common. I see it daily people being audited for claiming kids they are not entitled to. But to answer your question, no exceptions have been brought up.
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No. I’ve been in that boat for 21 years and have still fallen under Path with no exceptions.
I filed the 18th, accepted the 21st and didn’t even update to Path but I’m also a weekly so I won’t update until next week.
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