While April 15 is usually the due date, tax payers got a couple more days to file because of the Emancipation Day holiday in the District of Columbia.

One major change for filing this year is the child tax credit, which went up to $3,600 last year for children under 6 and up to $3,000 for kids ages 6 through 17. For those who chose the option to get half of that monthly, the IRS should have sent a 6419 notice to get the rest of the credit.

Filers also should have received a 6475 from the IRS from the third round of stimulus payments.

Experts also remind filers to not forget to deduct any donations made in 2021, even if they aren’t itemized.

If you notice a mistake after the deadline, you can file an amended return with the IRS. And if you need more time to prepare your return, you can file an extension with the IRS for free online that gives you until October 17 to file.

Reed, in his weekly media call, said January 24 was the first day taxpayers could file and that he recommends residents use e-file and choose direct deposit for the quickest return that most are entitled to.

Reed said he was part of a call with the IRS Commissioner Tuesday where they encouraged the agency to get staffing back to normal as soon as possible to deal with the backlog from the 2020 tax season, “In 2021 along, our office handled 871 IRS cases directly. That meant we were helping people waiting on returns, helped people get amended returns, helping constituents communicate with the IRS, using the taxpayer advocate office as much as we possibly can.”

Reed said the Pandemic was partly to blame for the backlog with new policies and processes needing to be adopted so employees could work remotely, “The other issue is, obviously we were changing a tremendous amount of rules especially like the child tax credit for 2021. And so that caused a new set of understandings that had to go through this agency to get educated on. Who’s eligible, who’s not eligible, a lot of confusion on people in regards to that.”

Reed said in conversations with the IRS over the last ten years, they’ve encouraged the agency to embrace technology and to show plans for how what they’re doing benefits customers before Congress approves additional resources.

The federal tax filing deadline this year is Monday, April 18. That’s the day by which taxpayers must have filed their 2021 individual return and paid any remaining federal income taxes owed for last year.