​​The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that due to the January tax law changes made by Congress, its e-file system will open on Wednesday, January 30, 2013, for most individual income taxpayers. Since the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) partners with the IRS e-file program, DOR will also start accepting e-filed returns for those taxpayers on January 30, 2013. (Note: "State only" returns will also start to be accepted on January 30, 2013.)

There are several federal forms affected by the late legislation that require more extensive programming and testing of IRS systems. The IRS hopes to begin accepting tax returns including these tax forms between late February and into March; a specific date will be announced by the IRS in the near future. The key forms delayed include Form 5695 (Residential Energy Credits), Form 4562 (Depreciation and Amortization) and Form 3800 (General Business Credit). For a full list of the forms that will be accepted later, visit IRS.gov.

Even with the slight delay in the start date for processing, the taxpayer's best option to file is electronically. They will receive their tax refund much faster by e-filing and using direct deposit.

January 15, 2013