Happy Valentine's Day Honey, Now Did You File Our Tax Return?!

Yesterday was the first day that people who itemize higher education fees on Schedule A and higher education tuition and fees deductions on Form 8917 were allowed to file their income tax returns. Because of last year's enactment of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, to accommodate new tax laws, the IRS had to make some changes to their computer systems.

The IRS began processing both paper and e-filed returns on Valentine's Day amidst their roses, teddy bears, and chocolates. (Jokes: What song do you sing to an IRS agent on V-Day? Lien on me. What does an IRS agent say to his girlfriend on his Valentine? I'll never levy you unless you're late. )

However, many preparers have already accepted tax documents. They just held onto them until today. (More Jokes: How do you get a couple of tax preparers to smile? Say fees! What is the definition of a good tax accountant? Someone who has a loophole named after him .)

A lot of people able to file already, for example, those pesky people who get to use Form 1040EZ (if you are one, though, be careful.) They got to use their income tax return to get their sweetie something nice. The delay also did not affect some popular tax credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), education tax credits, and the child tax credit, as they were simply extended - instead of being allowed to expire - in the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010.

The IRS got about nine million tax returns before Feb. 14 last year which included the affected deductions. This year, those nine million will flood their offices later. Speaking of floods, why did they start putting accountants at the bottom of the ocean? Because they found that deep down, they're not so bad...

One more IRS joke from Unwind.com:

A new arrival, about to enter hospital, saw two white coated doctors searching through the flower beds.
"Excuse me," he said. "Have you lost something?"
"No," replied one of the doctors. "We're doing a heart transplant for an income-tax inspector and want to find a suitable stone."

Happy Tax Season!