USA TODAY International Edition
July 15 is the new April 15. Have you filed your taxes?
Delaying may have paid off. Many who filed earlier still waiting for their refunds.
July 15 is the new April 15 for those who still have not filed a tax return. The traditional April income tax deadline was extended this year for 2019 tax returns, due to the upheaval created by COVID- 19.
The one- time extension applied for Michigan returns, too, as well as the City of Detroit returns.
Think everybody who waited owes big money? Think again. Oddly enough, experts say millions of procrastinators are likely owed a federal income tax refund for 2019.
H& R Block estimates that more than half of its clients who still need to file would receive a refund after they file. And the tax giant is running TV ads this summer highlighting the prospects of a tax refund.
As many as 11.3 million people still had not received federal income tax refunds for 2019 taxes – down 10.8% from a year ago, based on data through June 19 from the IRS.
Many of those people already filed; others have not.
Many people are furious that they filed long ago and still have not received big refunds. Blame the IRS backlog.
The IRS has ended up processing 11.4% fewer returns through June 19 than at the same time last year. Many IRS operations, including mail facilities, were shut down for some time due to the pandemic.
Many taxpayers who filed 2019 paper returns, for example, could still be waiting for their federal income tax refunds. “The IRS had to suspend the processing of paper tax returns, and as of May 16, it estimated it had a backlog of 4.7 million paper returns,” according to the National Taxpayer Advocate’s report to Congress.
Although the IRS is reopening some operations, the taxpayer advocate noted that “it is not clear when it can open and log all the returns sitting in mail facilities.”
In addition, many people have been caught in a cycle of having to verify their IDs with the IRS to avoid refund fraud.
“The IRS is processing refunds much slower due to their closing of client service and processing centers and their emphasis on getting stimulus checks out,” said George W. Smith, a CPA with Andrews Hooper Pavlik.
“The biggest glitch is if a taxpayer needs help from the IRS. It’s been pretty much nonexistent.”
Make no mistake, most people are done worrying about their 2019 income taxes. The Internal Revenue Service has already processed nearly 126.6 million
Have you ever had a hankering for mayo- flavored ice cream?
If you’re among the minority, Heinz now sells do- it- yourself ice cream kits that allow people to turn some of their favorite sauces into a frozen dessert.
The company that’s best known for its ketchup and other condiments made the announcement July 1, kicking off National Ice Cream Month in the U. K.
The “Creamz” kits cost about $ 17 each, and they come with a sauce, a recipe card, a reusable ice cream tub and an engraved scoop and spoon.
Each kit also includes a full- size bottle of either ketchup, mayonnaise, BBQ sauce, or salad cream.
No milk is provided in the kit, but there’s a sorbet option, so vegans craving savory sweets aren’t left out.
The ketchup flavor has sold out, according to the website.
Still, the company has added the complete recipe online for anyone daring enough to try it.
Right now, the kits are only available for purchasers in the U. K., with no current plans to bring the kits to America, a spokesperson Heinz told USA TODAY.
National Ice Cream Day in the U. S. is July 19.