Free tax filing software will remain available through November 17 to allow late filers to claim a series of key tax benefits, the Internal Revenue Service and the Oregon Department of Revenue announced this week.
Thousands of Oregonians are among the more than nine million individuals and families receiving letters from the Internal Revenue Service urging them to file a 2021 federal income tax return during an extended filing period over the next four weeks.
Many in this group may be eligible to claim some or all of the 2021, Recovery Rebate Credit, the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit and other tax credits depending on their personal and family situation. The special reminder letters, which will be arriving in mailboxes over the next few weeks, are being sent to people who appear to qualify for the credits but haven’t yet filed a 2021 return to claim them.
To help people claim these benefits, without charge, Free File will remain open for an extra month this year, until November 17, 2022. Free File enables people whose incomes are $73,000 or less to file a return online for free using brand-name software. Free File is sponsored by the Free File Alliance, a partnership between the IRS, state revenue agencies and the tax-software industry.
Those eligible for the federal EITC are also eligible to claim the Oregon Earned Income Credit and are urged to file an Oregon return as well. Oregon taxpayers may also qualify for the refundable Kicker credit on their 2021 return if they filed and had tax on their 2020 return.
Often, individuals and families can get these expanded federal tax benefits and the Oregon EIC, even if they have little or no income from a job, business or other source. This means that many people who don’t normally need to file a tax return should do so this year, even if they haven’t been required to file in recent years.
People can file a tax return even if they haven’t yet received their letter. The IRS reminds people that there’s no penalty for a refund claimed on a tax return filed after the regular April 2022 tax deadline. The fastest and easiest way to get a refund is to file an accurate return electronically and choose direct deposit.
People can also visit ChildTaxCredit.gov/file to file a 2021 income tax return. Individuals whose incomes are below $12,500 and couples whose incomes are below $25,000 may be able to file a simple tax return to claim the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit — which covers any stimulus payment amounts from 2021 they may have missed — and the Child Tax Credit. Individuals do not need to have children in order to use ChildTaxCredit.gov/file to find the right filing solution for them.
For Oregon tax issues, visit oregon.gov/dor to get tax forms, check the status of your refund, or make tax payments; call 800-356-4222 toll-free from an Oregon prefix (English or Spanish); 503-378-4988 in Salem and outside Oregon; or email questions.dor@oregon.gov. For TTY (hearing or speech impaired), call 800-886-7204.
