Approximately 4.4 million consumers nationwide will receive checks in the mail from the multistate settlement. New York will receive more than $5.4 million for more than 176,000 New Yorkers.

The settlement applies to certain consumers who paid Intuit to file their federal tax returns through TurboTax for tax years 2016, 2017, and 2018 but were eligible to file for free through the IRS Free File Program.

Consumers eligible for a payment will be notified by email by the settlement fund administrator. These consumers will receive a payment automatically, without needing to file a claim. Payments will be made by check, mailed throughout May 2023.

The amount each consumer receives will be based on the number of tax years for which they qualify. Most consumers are expected to receive between $29 and $30.

Individuals who filed for three consecutive years could get up to $85.

For more information about who is covered by the settlement, and information about the settlement fund, please visit www.AGTurboTaxSettlement.com.

This marks the first bill passed by the GOP-controlled House this Congress.

The bill, which is unlikely to see action in the Democratic-controlled Senate, passed in a party-line 221-210 vote on Monday evening.

A boost of about $80 billion in IRS funding over a decade generally aimed at upping high-income enforcement was included in last year’s Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats’ sweeping tax, health and climate bill.

The Republican bill, formally titled the “Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act,” directs any “unobligated balances of amounts appropriated or otherwise made available” to the IRS from the Inflation Reduction Act to be rescinded.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated Monday that the legislation would eliminate about $71 billion of the total $80 billion that was allocated for the IRS but would reduce tax revenue by about $186 billion, translating to a $114 billion increase in deficits over the next decade.

Republicans have repeatedly falsely claimed the 87,000 new IRS employees, who would be added over the course of a decade, would be “agents.”

The 87,000 figure comes from a May 2021 Treasury Department compliance report estimating new hires over a decade with the $80 billion funding boost. But only a small portion of the department’s current employees are agents, and the department has said the figure accounts for other workers such as customer service representatives and computer scientists as well as replacements for the 52,000 employees expected to retire or resign within the next six years.

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig said in an August letter to members of the Senate that the funds from the legislation would be used to up examination of large corporations and high-net-worth individuals and were not designed to raise enforcement for households making less than $400,000.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has also said that the agency would not increase audit rates for those taxpayers making less than $400,000.

Republicans, however, argued that the directives did not prohibit increased enforcement activities directed at middle- and low-income taxpayers, and pointed to a CBO analysis that said the funding boost would mean audit rates “rise for all taxpayers.” They also criticized the legislation for not allocating a larger portion to taxpayer services.

Representative Nick Langworthy voted for the bill, saying in a statement, “The problems facing the people of Western New York and the Southern Tier require a sense of urgency and that’s what they deserve from their representatives. I made a promise to protect taxpayers from an overzealous, politicized IRS and I delivered. The American people entrusted us with the Majority and it’s time we produce results. We are just getting started.”

The bill stand little chance in the Senate, and the White House said in a statement on Monday that President Biden would veto it if it came to his desk.

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.