Things to consider before filing
Taxpayers should wait to file until they receive all their proper tax documents, or they risk making a mistake that could cause delays.
They should also review their documents carefully. If any of the information is inaccurate or missing, taxpayers should contact the payer right away for a correction or to ensure the issuer has their current mailing or email address.
Creating an IRS Online Account can help taxpayers securely access information about their federal tax account, including payments, tax records and more.
Organized tax records make preparing a complete and accurate tax return easier and may help taxpayers find overlooked deductions or credits.
Taxpayers with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number or ITIN may need to renew it if it's expired and is needed on a U.S. federal tax return. If they don't renew an expiring or expired ITIN, the IRS can still accept their return, but it may delay processing or credits owed.
Changes to credits and deductions for tax year 2022
Unlike 2020 and 2021, there were no new stimulus payments for 2022, so taxpayers should not expect to get an additional payment in their 2023 tax refund.
However, taxpayers may still qualify for temporarily expanded eligibility of the Premium Tax Credit, a refundable credit that helps eligible individuals and families cover the premiums for their health insurance purchased through the Health Insurance Marketplace. To get this credit, taxpayers must meet certain requirements and file a tax return with Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit.
Also, eligibility rules changed to claim a Clean Vehicle Credit under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
Some tax credits return to 2019 levels. This means that taxpayers will likely receive a significantly smaller refund compared with the previous tax year.
Changes include amounts for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Child and Dependent Care Credit will revert to pre-COVID levels.
For the EITC, eligible taxpayers with no children who received roughly $1,500 in 2021 will now get $500 for the 2022 tax year.
Those who got $3,600 per dependent in 2021 for the CTC will, if eligible, get $2,000 per dependent for the 2022 tax year.
The Child and Dependent Care Credit returns to a maximum of $2,100 in 2022 instead of $8,000 in 2021.
Finally, taxpayers that don't itemize and take the standard deduction cannot deduct their charitable contributions this year.