These three things could affect your 2023 taxes

TOPEKA (KSNT) - It's officially tax-filing season, but this year looks a little different in comparison to the past few. There are a few important post-pandemic changes going into effect for the 2023 tax season.

James Sparks, an accountant at Sparks Tax & Accounting in Southwest Topeka, has a feeling things are going to "back to normal" this year. Here are his three reasons why:

The first: there are no federal stimulus checks being distributed in 2023.

The second: Child Tax Credit has returned to its pre-COVID value of $2,000. It had previously been raised to $3,600 for children under 6 and $3,000 for children over 6 in 2021 and 2022.

The third: the IRS has hired more employees to assist taxpayers over the phone. The goal is to avoid delays experienced over the past two years.

"The delays came from last year, just because they [the IRS] were so backlogged from COVID year," Sparks said. "They had laid off employees, people working from home, who weren't able to process returns. So they had to play catch-up for the last two years, and I'm thinking they're to the point where they're hopefully caught up to where we can start running a little bit smoother."

Sparks said there are a few tips to remember to keep things efficient this tax season. He said it's important to call your adviser on a regular basis, making sure you have gathered all the required tax documents before attempting to file your taxes and getting your taxes filed far before the due date.

The deadline to file is April 18 this year rather than the typical April 15 because Emancipation Day falls on April 17.