Lawndale Tribune
AND lAwNDAle News
The Weekly Newspaper of Lawndale
Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - November 16, 2017
Chinese Delegates See American
Education in Action in Lawndale
On November 9, Lawndale Elementary School District (LESD) had the honor of hosting Chinese principals from the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education as part of a larger international cultural
collaboration with the theme Curriculum Development and School Culture. The photo shows the group at Will Rogers Middle School. They also visited Jane Addams Middle School. The guests enjoyed a
comprehensive overview of the campuses and got a first-hand look at the excellent educational programs offered at each school. Photo provided by LESD
Nobody Really Knows When Tax-Filing
Season Will Start, IRS Included
By Rob McCarthy
Nearly every taxpayer knows that April 15
is the deadline for filing federal and state tax
returns, or requesting an extension. But what
about the first day to file those returns and,
hopefully, wait for a refund?
Even the Internal Revenue Service doesn’t
know when it will begin accepting 2017 federal
returns, according to a bulletin released last
week. The bureau said the start date depends
on what Congress decides about “extender”
tax breaks that expired at the end of last year.
Opening day for tax-filing season typically
falls on a Monday after Martin Luther King
Day, according to spokeswoman Cindy
Hockenberry with the National Association of
Tax Preparers. Not knowing the first day of
e-filing next January isn’t a problem yet for
the group’s members, she said. “It would be
if we get to January 5 without a start date for
e-filers,” Hockenberry noted.
This year, the IRS didn’t start accepting
electronically filed federal tax returns until
January 23. In past years, the date has been set
as early as January 16, giving tax preparers an
extra week in what is a long and grueling tax
season for them each year.
No matter which January date the IRS
selects, federal refunds won’t be issued until
mid-February at the earliest next year, said
Hockenberry with the 23,000-member tax
preparers association.
The IRS needs Congress to decide whether
to extend four tax breaks for individuals and
another dozen for businesses that expired on
December 31, 2016. Typically, Congress waits
until late in the year to approve a package of
temporary tax extensions, and this year is no
exception with the House and Senate working
feverishly on a tax plan that President Trump
wants on his desk before Christmas.
The four individual tax breaks waiting for a
congressional thumbs up are:
Mortgage insurance premium: This affects
homebuyers who can’t make a standard 20
percent down payment on a home or condo.
The deduction for the amount of the insurance
premium had been on the books since 2017.
Known as PMI, these policies protect lenders
in case buyers default on their mortgages. The
tax savings can be in the hundreds of dollars
per year, tax experts say.
Debt forgiveness on a home loan: The
housing crisis is over, and so is this tax break
as of December 31. The Mortgage Forgiveness
Debt Relief Act of 2007 helped underwater
homeowners who lost their homes to a short
sale or foreclosure. The act, which allows for
the exclusion of forgiven mortgage debt from
income, was extended several times in the past.
Medical expenses for seniors: People 65
and older and their spouses could deduct
medical expenses that exceeded 7.5 percent of
their adjusted gross incomes. Without the tax
extension, the threshold for deducting medical
bills would rise to 10 percent and leave seniors
with higher tax bills.
Tuition and college fees: This tax break to make
a college education slightly more affordable for
students and their families disappeared last year.
The tuition and fees deduction reduced a person
or family’s taxable income by $4,000--which
they could claim even if they didn’t itemize
their deductions.
Energy-saving home improvements: As of
January 1, homeowners no longer could claim
a 10 percent tax credit for energy-efficient
improvements. The credit had a lifetime limit
of $500, so for some homeowners an extension
won’t lighten their tax liability come January
when e-filers can submit their 2016 federal
and state tax returns.
The average federal refund last year in
California was $2,810, according to the IRS. As
for the exact date when a tax preparer, enrolled
agent or certified public accountant can hit the
send button, the IRS said it expects to make an
announcement later in the year. Until then, the
IRS advises the public and tax professionals
to ignore anyone claiming January 22 or after
MLK Day is the official date. “Any speculation
about refund dates in 2018 is premature,”
the IRS said in a November 3 bulletin. Once
Congress recesses for the holidays, the IRS will
make updates to its system that would include
any tax break extensions lawmakers approve.
Congressionally-approved tax breaks for
individuals and businesses renew on a two-
or five-year basis, though federal lawmakers
recently made a number of deductions permanent
for teachers who purchase school supplies,
people 70 1/2 and older to withdraw $100,000
from their individual retirement accounts without
ballooning their tax bills, and for companies
to claim a research credit.
For the second year in a row, state and
federal returns won’t be due on April 15.
Because the 15th falls on a Sunday next year,
filers will have an extra day to complete and
mail or e-file returns to the IRS and California
Franchise Tax Board in Sacramento. Nine in
10 returns last year were electronically filed.
This year, Congress is the one procrastinating
on income taxes. By doing so, it has put added
pressure on the preparers, tax law trainers and
business software developers to be ready for
next season’s opening day. •
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................5
Classifieds............................3
Film.........................................4
Food.......................................5
Hawthorne Happenings....3
Legals............................2, 6-7
Pets........................................8
Obituary.................................3
Sports....................................4
Weekend
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Sunday
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