It’s funny how tax filing season always seems to arrive right when it feels like the last one is finally ending. Actually, that’s probably not funny at all.

ON YOUR MARK, GET SET…GO: The IRS announced today that the 2023 tax filing season will kick off on January 23, 2023. In other words, on that date the agency will begin accepting and processing individual 2022 tax year returns. The filing and payment deadline this year is April 18.

SAVE THE DATE: There are several important dates to keep in mind for this year’s filing season.

• January 13: IRS Free File opens.
• January 17: Due date for tax year 2022 fourth quarter estimated tax payment.
• January 23: IRS begins 2023 tax season and starts accepting and processing individual 2022 tax returns.
• January 27: Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day to raise awareness of valuable tax credits available to many people – including the option to use prior-year income to qualify.
• April 18: National due date to file a 2022 tax return or request an extension and pay tax owed due to the Emancipation Day holiday in Washington, D.C.
• October 16: Due date to file for those requesting an extension on their 2022 tax returns.

SEE THE LIGHT: Looking on the bright side, National Taxpayer Advocate Erin M. Collins was cautiously optimistic about the upcoming filing season in her 2022 Annual Report to Congress released yesterday. “We have begun to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Collins wrote. “I’m just not sure how much further we have to travel before we see sunlight.”