JENYNE: IN THIS MORNIGN’S CONSUMER ALERT, TAX SEASON IS WELL UNDERWAY. BUT THERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU NEED TO KEEP IN MIND BEFORE FILING THIS YEAR. JOINING US LIVE THIS MORNING IS CPA TONY KING FROM KING KING AND ASSOCIATES. THANKS FOR JOINING US. THE FILING DEADLINE IS COMING UP, IS THAT RIGHT? WHAT IS THE DATE? TONY: THIS YEAR, IT IS APRIL 18. THE 15TH IS ACTUALLY ON THE WEEKEND, BECAUSE IT IS A HOLIDAY THE FOLLOWING MONDAY, EMANCIPATION DAY, WHICH IS A HOLIDAY IN WASHINGTON, D.C., IT IS PUSHED BACK TO TUESDAY, THE 18TH. WE HAVE ANOTHER LONG WEEKEND FOR TAX PREPARERS, LIKE MYSELF. JENYNE: IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN DO TO GET YOUR RETURN FATER? -- FASTER? TONY: WE RECOMMEND TO ELECTRONICALLY FILE YOUR RETURNS AND SELECT THE DIRECT DEPOSIT METHOD, IF YOU ARE GETTING A REFUND. AT SPEEDS UP THE PROCESS TREMENDOUSLY. -- THAT SPEEDS UP THE PROCESS TREMENDOUSLY. USUALLY 48 HOURS AFTER FILING THE RETURN, YOU CAN GO TO THE WEBSITE AND FIND YOUR LINK THAT SAYS, WHERE IS MY REFUND? IT WILL TELL YOU. IN ABOUT 48 TO 72 HOURS AFTER THAT, YOU CAN CHECK THE TAB ON THE WEBSITE. JENYNE: OVER THE COURSE OF THE PANDEMIC, THERE HAVE BEEN FEDERAL BENEFITS. BUT SOME OF THEM ARE GOING AWAY THIS YEAR, RIGHT? TONY: THAT IS RIGHT, THERE ARE A FEW FAMILY RELATED TAX CREDITS THAT ARE REVERTING BACK TO THE PRE-COVID LIMITS, THE CHILD TAX CREDIT, EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT AND CHILDCARE CREDIT. SOME OF THOSE DOLLAR AMOUNTS ARE GOING BACK TO PRE-COID, 2019. THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED WITH THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT THAT WAS RECENTLY PASSED THAT ARE BENEFICIAL. FOR ONE THING, TAXPAYERS IN DISASTER AREAS, CALIFORNIA, SOME OF THE GULF COAST STATES ARE GETTING RELIEF IN THAT THE DEADLINE FOR THEIR FILING SEASON HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO OCTOBER 16. SO TAXPAYERS DO HAVE SOME RELIEF , SOME FILING RELIEF FROM THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT. JENYNE: I AM GOING TO THROW YOU A CURVEBALL. ARE THERE ANY DEDUCTIONS THAT ARE COMMONLY OVERLOOKED OR THINGS WE COULD BE GETTING MONEY BACK FOR THAT WE FORGET? THAT IS TO HAVE YOUR PRIOR YEARS TAX RETURN IN FRONT OF YOU AS YOU ARE PREPARING THIS YEAR. THAT IS USUALLY A GOOD ROADMAP TO MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT MISS SOMETHING FROM THE PRIOR YEARS. SOME OF THE MOST COMMON MISTAKES -- MATHEMATICAL MISTAKES. TRANSPOSING A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER OR NOT MATHEMATICALLY CHECKING THE INPUT ON YOUR COMPUTER. IF BY CHANCE SOMEONE IS DOING IT MANUALLY, WHICH IS UNLIKELY THESE DAYS, JUST BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO MAKE MATHEMATICAL MISTAKES AND USING THE PRIOR YEAR RETURN AS A ROADMAP. JENYNE: GOOD ADVICE.