IRS announces delayed 2016 filing deadline

Following a review of the tax extenders legislation signed into law last week, the IRS has announced that the nation’s tax season will begin as scheduled on Tuesday, January 19, 2016.

Also, the filing deadline to submit 2015 tax returns is Monday, April 18, 2016, rather than the traditional April 15 date. Washington, D.C., will celebrate Emancipation Day on that Friday, which pushes the deadline to the following Monday for most of the nation. (Due to Patriots Day, the deadline will be Tuesday, April 19, in Maine and Massachusetts.)

Chances of being audited

The good news for U.S. clients in Canada is that their chances of being audited is low. MarketWatch reports that only 0.9% of individuals who did not include a business tax schedule with their returns were audited in 2014. Here are some additional findings.

• 2.2% of people with total income between $200,000 and $1 million were audited;
• 7.5% of individuals with income more than $1 million were audited;
• 2.3% of people who filed Schedule C (Profit or Loss from Business) with gross receipts of more than $100,000 were audited.

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