Happy New Year from the IRS!

Until just a few years ago, January 2nd was a special day for most Americans. It was the day Federal tax forms arrived in the mail. On January 2nd, IRS wanted us to remember that April 15th - - the deadline for filing individual Federal tax returns - - was only 105 days away. What a way to start the New Year!

Of course, IRS thought it was doing us all a favor by delivering the forms right to our doors: no trekking out to a local IRS office or post office in the snow! But, that was then, and things have changed at IRS. As the agency looked for ways to become more efficient, it realized that a large percentage of Americans rely on professional tax preparers to prepare their tax returns. So, many of the forms and instruction booklets delivered on January 2nd were winding up in trashcans and dumpsters.

Happily, IRS re-engineered its distribution process and now delivers forms only to taxpayers who prepare their own returns. The IRS is saving big bucks, the Postal Service has one less burden, and many of us can wake up a little happier on January 2nd.