East Texas financial expert shares filing tips for start of tax season

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - It’s time to start filing your taxes! The 2023 tax season officially starts today, but things could look a little different this year.

“Individuals who normally get large refunds in previous years are now going to experience smaller refunds,” Juan Martinez, Martinez CPA President and CEO said.

That’s because there are not government stimulus checks and tax break enhancements from the pandemic to account for. “Now the government don’t need to stimulate taxpayers as much as it needed to the previous year,” Martinez said.

“For instance the child credit. In 2021, the child credit went up to $3600 for children ages 0-6 years of age and then they went up to $3000 for children 7-17 years and now that child credit is capped at $2000 per children but only $1400 is refundable. In 2021, 100% of 3600 or 100% of 3000 was refundable,” Martinez said.

Martinez said the best things you can do include plan ahead, set money aside for retirement, invest and, “Be wise, consult, you know with tax experts, attorneys, people that know what they’re doing.”

Even if you file today, it could take a few weeks to a month to see the returns. “The more credits that you claim the longer it’s going to take for the IRS to verify that the information on the return is legit,” Martinez said.

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